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          Indicators of Coastal Zone Environmental Quality:
                        An Annotated Bibliography









                                    April, 1995

                                                   U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NOAA
                                                   COASTAL SERVICES CENTER
                                                   2234 SOUTH HOBSON AVENUE
                                                   CHARLESTON, SC 29405-2413


                                   Prepared by:
                                 James M. Pacheco
                              School of Marine Affairs
                              University of Washington


Or

                                Property of CSC Library


            0s~~~~ ï¿½  K              Report 95-104

      N)<~~~             ~ Shorelands  and  Water Resources Program
                    WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY
                           Olympia, Washington 98504-7600








                             Coastal Zone Assessment Project

This report is one in a series of reports commissioned or completed by the Shorelands and
Water Resources Program of the Washington Department of Ecology in fulfillment of its
Coastal Zone Assessment Project. The project is dedicated to identifying measures of coastal
zone environmental quality and success measures for Washington's Coastal Zone Manage-
ment Program.

For additional information about the Coastal Zone Assessment Project, please contact the
project manager:

              Douglas J. Canning
              Shorelands and Water Resources Program
              Washington Department of Ecology
              P. O. Box 47600
              Olympia, WA 98504-7600
              360.407.6781 (telephone)
              [email protected] (Internet)




                This report was funded in part through a cooperative
                agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
    :(n~11 H   Administration with funds appropriated for the Coastal
                Zone Management Act of 1972. The views expressed
     ,.~.n~     herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the    W A S H IN  B  0  s T A T E
                views of NOAA or any of its sub-agencies.                 D E P A 9 T i E X T D F
                                                                           0E P A  L T  G ET Y 




The Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity agency and does not discriminate on the
basis of race, creed, disability, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disabled
veteran's status, Viet Nam Era veteran's status, or sexual orientation.

If you have special accommodation needs or require this document in alternative format,
please contact Tim Gate ti (3&0) 4-077256 (','6i'ee ot(360) 407-6006 (TDD).



                           Recommended bibliographic citation:

Pacheco, James M. 1995. Indicators of Coastal Zone Environmental Quality: An Annotated
Bibliography. Shorelands and Water Resources Program, Washington Department of
Ecology, Olympia.

ii








                                        Preface


in recent years government has been challenged to assess its productivity, and individual
government programs have likewise been challenged to assess their success. For some
environmental and resource management agencies this has been relatively easy: water quality
and air quality managers had for years been monitoring and reporting on environmental
quality, and the environmental indicators are widely accepted. Other resource management
agencies knew what to measure; they simply lacked the necessary funds maintain long-term
monitoring programs. Yet other environmental and resource management agencies were truly
challenged: there were no generally agreed upon success measures or environmental quality
indicators. Coastal zone management, to a large degree, fails into that third category.
Beginning in the late 1980s, the Washington Department of Ecology'began addressing the
business of measuring productivity and success through a series of projects and reports:

     *the. Washington Environment 2010 project which assessed current (1989) and future
       environmental conditions;

     *the 1991 and 1993 State of the Environment reports which followed on from Environ-
       ment 2010.

Early efforts by the Shorelands and Coastal Zone Management Program focused on measures
such as the number of permits reviewed, or the amount of technical assistance provided to
local governments. But these are not productivity or success measures, nor do they character-
ize the coastal zone; they are merely activity measures, or in the vernacular, 'bean counts.'
Part of the problem lies in the general nature of shorelands and coastal zone management
under Washington's Shoreline Management Act and the federal Coastal Zone Management
Act. The mandates and goals of these laws can be summarized as follows:

       foster appropriate development and land use;

      protect marine and aquatic water quality, habitats, and resources from the direct and
       cumulative adverse effects of development and other human activities;

       prevent inappropriate development and land.use in high-hazard areas;

       provide for public access and recreational opportunities; and

      provide special area management for important shoreland and coastal areas.








Some of these goals do not readily translate into on-the-ground or in-the-water measures of
success.

This report is part of a project initiated in 1994 by the Shorelands and Coastal Zone
Management Program to identify meaningful and practical measures of the state of the
coastal zone. Legislators and the public are right to -expect their governmental programs to
yield productive results. Resource management agencies should report on those results in a
way that makes sense, is scientifically valid, and is cost effective.

In this task we have reviewed and assessed the scientific and professional literature. The
project was ably carried out by James Pacheco, a graduate student at the School of Marine
Affairs at the University of Washington. Some of the problems we encountered in designing
and completing this literature review speak to the broader problems of resource assessment
already mentioned:

   The business of assessing environmental quality, governmental productivity, and govern-
   ment program success is young, especially in coastal zone management. Not surprisingly,
   we had difficulty identifying key words by which to conduct our search of the scientific
   and professional literature.

   Coastal zone management as a discipline and a governmiental activity seems to be poorly
   recognized in some quarters. A good body of the coastal zone management literature was
   indexed only in the engineering literature indexing services simply because the publisher
   of the biennial Coastal Zone Symposium happens to the American Society of Civil
   Engineers. Only when our initial search failed to turn up known titles did we learn of this
   quirk.

This report reflects only our review of the scientific and professional literature. Other tasks
in the project will review governmental agency reports and workshop proceedings, evaluate
established monitoring programs, and identify the relevant data sets available for Washing-
ton's coastal zone.


                                                                         Douglas J. Canning
                                                                            Project Manager
                                                            Coastal Zone Assessment Project











iv








                       Table of Contents



Preface .                                                                           iii

Table of Contents ........................................... v

1. Introduction ............................................. 1

2. Perceptions of Indicators ..................................... 5
  2.1 Problems with Differing Perceptions ........................... 5
  2.2 Public Perception ....................................... 7
     2.2.1 Appropriate Development .............................. 8
     2.2.2 Scenery ...... ................................. 8
  2.3 Perceptions of Coastal Zone Managers and Researchers ............... 10
     2.3.1 Useful Parameters and Research .......................... 11
     2.3.2 Questionable Parameters and Research ....................... 13
  2.4 Citizen Monitoring Parameters ............................... 14

3. Direct Measurements and Bioindicators ............................ 17
  3.1 Direct Measurements .................................... 17
  3.2 Bioindicators ......................................... 18
     3.2.1 Efficacy, Reviews and Evaluations ......................... 19
     3.2.2 Overviews and Evaluations ............................. 20
     3.2.3 Examples ........................................ 23
  3.3 Research Trends ....................................... 25
     3.3.1 Fine tuning the bioindicators model ......................... 26
     3.3.2 Critiques and improvements ............................. 28
     3.3.3 Quantitative and Community models ........................ 29
     3.3.4 Biodiversity ....................................... 30

4. Bivalves ............................................... 33
  4.1 Research Trends ....................................... 36
     4.1.1 Fine Tuning ...................................... 36
     4.1.2 Models ......................................... 38
     4.1.3 Model Reviews .................................... 39
  4.2 Mussel Watch ......................................... 40
     4.2.1 Modem Mussel watch ............................... 43
     4.2.2 Application of Mussel Watch ............................ 44
     4.2.2 Parallel Research ................................... 45

5. Benthos..                                                                        47
  5.1 Indicator Organisms .47
     5.1.1 Efficacy, Reviews, and Evaluations ........................ 48


                                                                  V-








     5.1.2 Examples ........................................ 49
  5.2 Research Trends ....................................... 52
     5.2.1 Direct Measurements .................................. 53
     5.2.2 Effects on the Organism .............................. 53
     5.2.3 Comparing or Identifying Bioindicators ...................... 55
     5.2.4 Critiques and Improvements ............................. 56

6.0 Indicators from the Coastal Zone Management Literature ................. 59
  6.1 Coastal Zone Management Reviews ............................ 59
  6.2 Buffer Zones .......................................... 62
  6.3 Public Access ........................................... 64
  6.4 Coastal Hazards ........................................ 65
  6.5 Marine Debris ......................................... 67
  6.6 Public Participation ..................................... 70

7. Summary and Conclusions .... 73
  7.1 Direct Measurements and Bioindicators ......................... 73
  7.2 Bivalves ............................................ 73
  7.3 Benthos ............................................. 73
  7.4 Coastal Zone Management ................................. 74
     7.4.1 Buffer Zones ...................................... 74
     7.4.2 Public Access ..................................... 74
     7.4.3 Coastal Hazards .................................... 75
     7.4.4 Marine Debris ...................................... 75
     7.4.5 Public Participation .................................. 75
  7.5 Conclusions .......................................... 75






















vi








                                  1. Introduction


The coastal zone represents the epitome of a limited resource with many competing interests
vying for its use. Over twenty years ago Congress took notice of the environmental degrada-
tion taking place in the coastal zone, the competing interests, and the inability to properly
manage the coastal resource. To ameliorate these problems, Congress passed the Coastal
Zone Management Act of 1972 which challenged coastal states to develop and implement
programs to manage and protect their coastal resources. Washington is one of the many
states that took up the challenge. The Washington state Shoreline Management Act of 1971 is
the basis of Washington's federally approved coastal zone management program.

Has all this worked? Has coastal zone management improved the quality of our coastal
resources? Does the public see a benefit from the increased stewardship? While there are
anecdotal data that answers these question affirmatively, these are unreliable measures and
should not be the sole basis in which to evaluate the nation's coastal zone management
program. How then should coastal zone managers measure their success? In the early years
after the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act, researchers and practitioners began
to stress the need to formulate meaningful and measurable evaluative criteria, among which
are quantitative measurements (abstracts of these papers are listed in section 'Coastal Zone
Management Review". Have researchers and practitioners risen to the challenge? Have they
developed indicators of environmental quality for the coastal zone?

In this first phase of the project, we searched the scientific and coastal zone management
literature in an attempt to develop a list of useful environmental quality indicators for the
coastal zone. The goal was to develop a list of indicators that are both measurable, i.e., they
should be quantitative, and economical, i.e., they should be attainable within normal
budgetary constraints. They should also be usable by natural resource managers as well as
having intuitive and significant meaning to the general public.

This literature review sought to locate potential evaluative criteria as discussed in peer
reviewed journals and 'gray literature' such as non-reviewed journals, symposium and
conference proceedings. The search was conducted at the University of Washington using the
on line catalogue and the following CD-ROM data bases: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts,
National Technical Information Service, Life Sciences Abstracts, Water Resources Abstracts,
Fish and Fisheries, and Compendex. This search strategy was designed to be comprehensive
in that it is very multi-disciplinary, but it was not exhaustive.

During the literature search, I used two different strategies. In one strategy, I used the key
word search terms such as ((ENVIRoNNENTAL OR STRESS OR WATER QUALITY) with INDICATOR"). I then
restricted the search to those papers dealing with "COASTAL OR MARINE OR ESTUARINE OR (PUGET
-SoUND)" issues. This strategy turned up sources mainly from the peer reviewed scientific
literature. The second strategy used terms such as (COASTAL ZONE MANAGEmENT wIT (EVALUATION
OR REvIEw)). This naturally turned up sources form the coastal zone management literature.








The initial search turned up over 500 sources. The abstracts of these sources were read and
evaluated for their applicability to this project. The initial findings were culled using the
following criteria.

1) The indicator should deal with an outcome. Programmatic papers were not considered
useful to this project. Since process problems are procedural in nature, they do not avail
themselves to quantitative evaluative criteria thus are inappropriate to use as indicators.
However, formative evaluations can give feedback to manag ers and legislators to determine
if process problems are being properly dealt with. Outcome problems of the other hand are
much easier to portray as an indicator. An assumption made by this review is that as an
indicator shows a problem being improved, especially if good, acceptable, and harmful levels
have been determined, that is an indicator of quality

2) The source should deal more with the ability of the indicator in question to determine the
quality of the coastal resource rather that the effects of the coastal resource on that indicator.
This was most apparent in choosing papers dealing with bioindicators.

3) The indicator should be easily reproducible, recognizable and have an intuitive 'feel" as
an indicator of coastal zone quality. For example, some cellular or biochemical tests may
have a good scientific basis to support its use an indicator, but they are to technical to be
easily understandable and potentially too expensive to be useful -as an indicator.

These remained our criteria for 'useful indicators," but, when it became apparent that most
of the sources did not meet this criteria, sources not necessarily useful to the indicator
project were kept. These are used to compare and contrast the different type of research and
to show the different directions researchers are taking.

This shorter list was compiled and separated into five subject areas. In each subject area,
relevant papers are discussed, cited, and presented in abstract form. All presented papers
share a similar format as follows:

Author(s). Date. Title. Journal or Book or Proceedings. Publisher.

   ABSTRACT: The authors abstract taken from the paper or the indexing service.

   ANNOTATION: Any relevant information not in the abstract is included here. In cases
   where an abstract is not provided the annotation will summarize any relevant information.

The first is a small group dealing with perception. It looks at how researchers and practitio-
ners and the public perceive problems in the coastal zone. It also looks at what indicators
appear to be important to these groups and compares them with what is being promoted in
the literature.

The second, third, and fourth groups deal with the more scientific oriented areas of water
and sediment quality and bioindicators. Two groups of bioindicators have a particularly large
research base and are treated separately. These are papers dealing with sediments and benthic.

2








and demersal organisms and those dealing with bivalves with a sub-section describing and
illustrating the success of the national mussel watch program.

The fifth -group focuses on the more socially inclined research of coastal zone management.
It includes three of the eight 'improvement objectives' identified by Congress in its 1990
reauthorization of the'Coastal Zone Management Act and reviewed in the 1992 Washington
State Coastal Zone Section 309 Assessment and Strategy paper. The three areas included are
"coastal hazards,' 'public access,' and 'marine debris." Some articles on wetlands were
discovered, but these only dealt with describing restoration attempts or arguments favoring
wetland preservation. These topics were not useful to the project, therefore, the subject was
eliminated. The four other objectives were considered too programmatic to be useful to this
study. Other subjects uncovered during the literature review include a section on previous
CZM evaluations and one dealing with buffer zones. A final section dealing with public
participation is admittedly programmatic in nature, but it does offer supporting evidence as to
why we are still dealing with the problem of a lack of good quantifiable indicators for the
coastal zone.
































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                             4








                        2. Perceptions of Indicators


One problem with developing a set of indicators of coastal zone quality is the differing
perceptions of problems held by policy makers, natural resource managers, interest groups,
and the general public. This chapter reviews articles that highlight some of those differences,
the problems those differences can cause, and recommendations for improvement.


2.1 Problems with Differing Perceptions

Scientists, resource managers, and the public have different knowledge they bring to their
impressions and values of the shore. Not surprisingly, this results in different perceptions of
what is meaningful or important. For example, if the parameters used by coastal zone
managers are not easily understood by the public (O'Connor et al. 1986, Wolfe and
O'Connor 1986), or do not take into consideration the manner in which the resource is used
(West 1987 and West 1989), the public may neither understand nor see the value in the
program. This makes the policy or program vulnerable to critiques of being ineffective,
inefficient or too expensive, which could lead to its elimination.

O'Connor, J.S.; Pugh, W. L.; Wolfe, D. A.; Dewling,-R. T. 1986. Protection of natural
resources through environmental indices. Sea-Technol. 27(9): 31-33

   ABSTRACT: While many available indicators are useful in pollution assessment, simple.
   indices are often most advantageous from the decision-maker's perspective. Governments
   have long used indices of their economic conditions. For many of the same reasons,
   including the need to understand influences of environmental quality on economics,
   indices of marine environmental quality are expected to be developed and used in the near
   future. Indices, unlike the direct measurements on which they are based, include some
   technical interpretation, and this important benefit is transmitted to the layman and the
   general public. Indices, therefore, can be tangible and readily interpreted without
   reference to additional standards or reference values. Direct measures alone of most
   environmental features are marginally interpretable in the managerial context. Improved
   indices of pollutant degradation are needed as guides to design monitoring programs. It is
   evident that major collaborative efforts would be necessary to monitor effectively'on a
   national basis, just to coordinate monitoring for compliance with existing laws and
   regulations which monitor for trends in contamination and fate and effects.

Douglas A. Wolfe and Joel S. O'Connor. 1986. Some limitations of indicators and their
place in monitoring schemes. pp 878-884 in: Oceans '86 Conference Record: Science Engi-
neering Adventure. Vol. 3 Monitoring-Strategies Symposium. Marine Technology Soc.,
Washington, DC, New York, NY.

   ABSTRACT: Indicators of marine environmental quality in problem oriented monitoring
   must be matched to management needs. Indicators, carefully chosen, applied, and inter-








   preted, can help us understand environmental status, and perhaps help to fore cast envi-
   ronmental changes. Understanding the causal mechanisms and inter-relationships under
   lying changes in indicator values usually relies on models derived from previous research.
   The management focus and utility of marine environmental monitoring programs would
   be greatly improved by 1) clear definition of management objectives and information
   needs; 2) more direct representation of management values in the indicators selected for
   monitoring; 3) specification of appropriate management actions at different thresholds in
   the monitored indicators; and 4) design of statistically sound sampling with explicit
   recognition of credible impact hypotheses, desired detection limits, and ambient vari-
   ability. For many indicators, indexes may be an effective means of describing and com-
   municating environmental trends.

West, Niels. 1987. Estuarine quality use and public perception. pp 804-811 in: Coastal Zone
'87, Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. v 1. American
Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

   ABSTRACT: Coastal environmental quality is determined on the basis of a relatively
   small number of biochemical and physical parameters which may bear little relation to the
   intended use of the water. This paper reports on the perceptions of five Narragansett Bay
   user groups (boaters, beach-goers, residents, tourists and shellfishermen pertaining to
   both the dry shore and nearshore of Narragansett Bay. While the users were in general
   agreement about the ends of the 'environmental continuum,' considerable variation exists
   in the weights accorded and the specific environmental parameters cited by the five user
   groups. None of the environmental factors mentioned included those which traditionally
   have been used to measure the quality of the dry shore and nearshore. The paper
   concludes with a call for the inclusion of parameters important to the users in the
   determination of water classes and standards above and beyond the conventional biochem-
   ical and physical parameters collected at present. (Author abstract) 6 refs.

   ANNOTATION: Because financial resources are limiting, it makes little sense to judge
   water quality with a parameter which is inconsistent with the actual use of the water
   resource. Therefore, parameters important to the various user groups should be included
   when determining water quality standards.

West, N. 1989. A preliminary review of water quality parameters and recreational user
perceptions of nearshore water quality. Journal of Coastal Research 5(3): 563-572.

   ABSTRACT: Substantial discrepancies exist between the quality of the nearshore defined
   scientifically and the quality of the water as viewed (perceived) by the many users of that
   environment. Discrepancies between scientifically defined water quality and the manner
   in which the quality of the water is perceived by the users present both opportunities and
   obligations for the coastal and nearshore manager and policy maker. Shore and nearshore
   areas, which from a scientific point of view are classified as marginal, may be useful for
   some recreational activities. It is suggested that additional non-scientific water quality
   parameters be included in future water quality surveillance efforts which are meaningful
   to both existing and new users of that environment.

6








2.2 Public Perception

What are the public's concerns? What do they consider to be important indicators of environ-
mental quality in the coastal zone? Only one author described parameters important to the
public. Eichbaum (1990) describes four areas of public concern and suggests that they be
integrated into the management system: whether the area is swimmable or fishable, a concern
that living resources protected, and that public health is safeguarded. Unfortunately, these
four areas of concern do not directly convert to quantifiable indicators. However, existing
indicators and monitoring data can be described is ways that address the public's concerns.
For example, instead of simply reporting dissolved oxygen as just another impersonal water
quality parameter, it could and be compared with the minimum level needed to support
salmonids. Researchers need to make the effort phrase their data in more meaningful ways.

Public perception can also be important to guide programmatic decisions. These are not
useful as an environmental indicator, but like the previous examples, they can guide future
research and programs. Fenton and Syme (1989) surveyed the publics perception on what
constitutes appropriate development in the coastal zone. They found that low rise develop-
ments and marinas were preferred over industrial, commercial, and high rise developments.
Fletcher et al. (1989) dealt with perceptions of beach safety, but within this seemingly
irrelevant study, they recorded that the public values the beach for its scenic value and its
recreation value. Indicators based on those two values would therefore be meaningful to the
public. Other authors support the value of scenery, but in an indirect way. Often an author
uses language too indefinite to be useful in developing an indicator (e.g. Kuroyanagi et al.
1983), or the author just casually mentions that a certain factor is important and then moves
on with the subject of the article (Williams 1992).

One group of authors focused on the problem of coastal erosion. Terich and Gabriel (1987)
found that erosion has little effect on property values. The availability of insurance may be a
contributing factor to this finding. Kucma-Kenny and Nordstrom (1985) found a similar
indifference, but thought it was due to a lack of communication between the public and
coastal zone managers. Ives and Furuseth (1988) on the other hand found that the public was
aware of the problem, and that the erosion risk can be increased by human intervention.
Clearly, individual case studies are not generalizable.

Research involving the public's perception did not turn up any useful indicators, but it has
offered some insight on how to better present data, and has shown that coastal zone managers
have not been successful in communicating their perception of coastal zone problems.

Eichbaum, W.M.; Bernstein, B.B. 1990. Current issues in environmental management: A
case study of southern California's marine monitoring system. Coastal Management
18(4): 433-445.

   ABSTRACT: A, case study panel of the National Research Council's Committee on
   Systems Assessment of Marine Environmental Monitoring analyzed the monitoring
   system in the Southern California Bight. The goal of this assessment was to identify


                                                                                           7








   monitoring's contribution to decision making and recommend how effective monitoring
   programs could be designed. The committee viewed monitoring as part of a management
   system including public concerns, laws and regulations, and the decision-making infra-
   structure. In assessing this larger system, the panel found many monitoring programs in
   the bight, regulated and performed by a variety of public and private agencies. These
   programs had contributed to the understanding of impacts around point sources.

   ANNOTATION: The public's concerns were stated as four questions: (1) Is it safe to
   swim in the ocean? (2) Is it safe to eat local seafood? (3) Are fisheries and other living
   resources being protected? (4) Is the health of the ecosystem being safeguarded?. There is
   also a concern that monitoring is not addressing these questions. Part of this problem is
   that much of the monitoring data is to technical to be useful to the public. An effort needs
   to be made to translate monitoring data into information that is useful to both coastal zone
   managers and to the public.

2.2.1 Appropriate Development

Fenton, D.M. & Syme, G.J. 1989. Perception and evaluation of the coastal zone: Implica-
tions for coastal zone planning. Coast. Manage. 17(4): 295-308.

   ABSTRACT: 509 Respondents completed a survey that assessed their knowledge of the
   metropolitan coast; the acceptability of industrial, commercial, high-rise, and marina
   developments; and community perceptions of the important planning criteria for coastal
   development. Analysis, by means of a modified repertory grid methodology, of respon-
   dents' coastal knowledge indicated that the coast could be classified into four perceptual
   units that, when used with existing landform and land use classification, could be used to
   assess development location and the social impact of proposed developments. By analysis
   of responses to coastal maps, sketches, and verbal descriptions, it was found that only
   marina and low-rise developments were seen as acceptable forms of coastal development.

2.2.2 Scenery

Fletcher,-J.E.; Kaiser,-R.A.; Steele,-R.J.Perceptions of beach safety: A comparison of beach
users and managers. 1989. Coastal Management 17(4): 349-359

   ABSTRACT: Today's beach manager must balance legal obligations to protect users from
   injuries with recreation users' expectations for reasonably safe and enjoyable recreation
   opportunities. Thus beach managers must have a thorough understanding of their legal
   obligations as well as the expectations of their recreation users if they are to formulate
   risk-management programs that satisfy both. This study outlines the legal obligations of
   beach managers in protecting users and presents survey findings that demonstrate that*
   managers' expectations for safety-related services may be different from the expectations
   of recreation users at a particular beach park. Although the study was conducted at four
   Texas beach parks, the legal principles and methodology presented can be used by beach
   managers in their formulation or update of risk-management programs for beaches in
   other states.

8








   ANNOTATION: In addition to the public surveys of why they went to the beach, two
   potential indicators developed. These are the importance of scenery and the recreation
   value.

Kuroyanagi, Akio and Takeo Kondo with Academic Advisor Prof. Wataru Kato. 1983.
Evaluation of the Visual Effects of the Coastal zone. p 2222 in: Coastal Zone. '83: P~roceed-
ings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean 'Management. American Society of Civil
Engineers, New York.

   ABSTRACT: The ocean is different from land in that its scenery consists of a vast and
   simple blue sea and blue sky, and coastal areas are an extremely delicate space both
   ecologically and geographically. Therefore, the basis for the development of a visual
   environment in the coastal zones requires harmonious space consisting of extended space
   and a clear view. The space in such an environment should possess coordinated unity
   instead of a partial balance. However, under the current circumstances, optimum
   utilization of the coastal areas has been made possible by reclamation and development,
   and factories, industrial complexes, and other large enterprises blanket the areas. Such
   development, being different from the conventional means of land usage, in turn, is
   disturbing the harmony of the environment, often resulting in conflicts with local
   residents. Moreover, various structures erected in the coastal areas occupied by specific
   users hinder the local residents of not only physical access but also visual access, thus
   causing their spiritual alienation from the coast. For this reason, emphasis on the
   ecological, cultural, historical, and aesthetic considerations must be given in this field of
   the coastal zones for maintenance of amenity, as well as on the significance of economic
   development. It is only after sufficient scientific clarification of the interrelationships
   between man and the coastal environment that standards and methods for future evalua-
   tion of the pertinent value of the coastal environment can be drawn.

Williams, A.T. 1992. The quiet conservators: Heritage Coasts of England a nd Wales. Ocean
Coast. Manage 17(2): 15 1-167.

   ANNOTATION: Williams describes the purpose and progress of UK Heritage Coasts
   which seeks to preserve the most scenic coastlines of England and Wales through non-
   statutory persuasive means. Briefly mentioned in the article is the public's desire to
   conserve the quality of scenery and to foster leisure activity (recreation), and the
   acknowledgment that these values are highly subjective.

2.2.3 Erosion
Terich, Thomas A.; Gabriel, Anthony D. 1987. Effect of erosion upon coastal property
values. pp 2391-2401 in: Coastal Zone '87, Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Coastal
and Ocean Management. v 2. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

 *ABSTRACT: The effect of long-termn severe erosion upon coastal property values is
   tested at a site along the Pacific Coast of Washington State. Statistical analysis of mma
   sales values suggests the erosion has had little impact on land values. This conclusion


                                                                                           9







   must remain tenuous because of the nature of the site. The problems and issues Of
   studying the economic impacts of coastal erosion are presented. (Author abstract)

   ANNOTATION: The public did not appear to be concerned with the potential of erosion
   damage when purchasing a piece of property. The potential of insurance may be a factor
   in erosion's lack of effect on property values. The author found the assessor's lowering
   of property value for the purpose of -tax assessment had a greater effect than erosion.

Gail A. Kucma-Kenny and Karl F. Nordstrom. 1985. Communication of coastal erosion-
information to shorefront residents: the user perspective. p 327 in: Coastal Zone '85:
Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of
Civil Engineers, New York.

   ANNOTATION According to managers and policy makers, coastal erosion problems are
   reaching critical proportions along much of the US Shorefront. These researchers found
   that the public is not very interested or concerned about coastal erosion unless they are
   being impacted.

Ives, S.M.; Furuseth, O.J. 1988. Community response to coastal erosion: The view from
two North Carolina beach areas. Ocean and Shoreline Management 11(3): 177-193.
   ANNOTATION: Research on response to coastal erosion suggest that residents of both
   communities are aware of the hazard, and view it'as a natural process with which they
   must cope. They recognize that erosion risk is increased by human action, and hence areI
   strongly in support of non-structural approaches at the local level. Residents also indicate
   strong support for post-disaster assistance from federal and state governments, moderate
   support for structural techniques, but relatively weak support for subsidized hazard
   insurance.


2.3 Perceptions of Coastal Zone Managers and Researchers

The perceptions of managers and researchers of course differ from those of the general
public. For example, the National Status and Trends Program focuses on water quality data
and monitors nationwide levels of toxic chemicals in fish, shellfish, and sediments. Turgeon
et al. (1993) gave a-good comprehensive explanation of the program. Burroughs and Lee
(1988) also show that water quality measurements are being used as an indicator for program
evaluations. Although water quality measurements are easily quantifiable, which makes them
useful to researchers and coastal zone managers, they are not always presented in a context
understandable by the lay public.

Some research has included parameters which would be understandable by the public,
however, these types of papers were not very common., Of the indicators described in
Piccolo (1991), tumors in fish livers, closed shellfish beds, and loss of habitat would be most
useful because they most closely relate to the public's concerns. Sempere and Rowan (1983)


10








gives an early example of a study that included a local perspective concerning coastal zone
problems. It was not a very comprehensive inclusion as it focused on local leaders, but it
was a start.

Although the importance of the public's perception of a chosen indicator has been in the
literature for at least seven years, many indicators proposed by researchers do not included
public perception as a factor. When newer methods to determine environmental quality were
proposed, instead of simplifying the research model, most researchers tended to develop and
recommend a more complex set of indicators, with complexity increasing over time. Long
(1983) simply prescribed a multidisciplinary approach. This was followed by Cendreo (1989)
who wrote that research should be "pluridisciplinary," that the cooperation of the natural and
social sciences and engineering is essential for proper understanding of the complex problems
involved in coastal zone management. Underwood and Peterson (1988) developed an
ecological framework. Nelson (1990) expanded on this ecological model and developed a
very specific and quantitative index of biotic integrity for coastal systems. These models (at
the time) may have been more environmentally and ecologically sound and gave managers a
better overall indicator of quality, but they are probably too technical to be useful to the
public.

2.3.1 Useful Parameters and Research

Turgeon, D.D.; Gottholm, B.W.; Wolfe, D.A.; Roberston, A. 1993. NS&T national benthic
surveillance project: contaminants in fish tissues. pp 3474-3483 in: Coastal Zone '93:
Proceedings of the Eighth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management v 3. American
Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

   ABSTRACT: The National Benthic Surveillance Project, part of NOAA's National Status
   and Trends (NS&T) Program, has been regularly measuring more than 70 contaminants
   in liver tissue of selected benthic fish species and in estuarine and coastal sediments since
   1984. Contaminants monitored by the NS&T Program include 16 major and trace
   elements, 9 chlorinated pesticides and 6 isomers of DDT, DDD and DDE; 20
   polychlorinated biphenyl congeners; 24 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH);
   butyltins; and, at some sites, toxaphene. Concentrations of fluorescing PAH metabolites
   are measured in fish bile, and histopathology and other biochemical biomarkers of
   contaminant exposure are also determined in the liver tissue. Primary species of fish
   represented in the national NS&T monitoring database include: flathead sole
   (Hippoglossoides elassodon), white croaker (Genyonemus lineatus), starry flounder
   (Platichthys stelloas), Atlantic croaker, (Micropogonias undulatus), spot (Leiostomas
   xanthurus), and winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus). This paper examines correla-
   tions in concentrations of selected trace elements (Pb, Zn, Ag, Hg, Cd, and Cu) and
   organic chemical classes (DDT, PCBs, and total chlordane) in these six fish species and
   in associated surficial sediments. (Author abstract) Refs.








Burroughs, R.H.; Lee, V. 1988. Narragansett Bay pollution control: An evaluation of
program outcome. Coast. Manage. 16(4): 363-377.

   ABSTRACT: Program evaluation is applied to estuarine management. Point source
   loadings of oxygen demanding organic material and ambient conditions of bottom water
   dissolved oxygen in the upper reaches of the Narragansett estuary were examined over
   recent decades to determine the effects of a sewage treatment plant in reducing pollution.
   Two tests of program outcome are presented. The first demonstrates that a statistically
   significant increase in bottom water dissolved oxygen is correlated with a sewage
   treatment plant upgrade. The second analysis shows that these improvements in water
   quality exceed those that could be attributed to improved background conditions caused
   by reduced loading from the major river.

Piccolo, Vallana M. 1991. Pollution control strategies of the Puget Sound water quality
management plan. Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. pp 904-915 in: Coastal Zone '91:
Proceedings of the seventh Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management v 2. American
Society of Civil Engineers, New York, NY, USA.

   ABSTRACT: In 1988 EPA designated Puget Sound as an estuary of national significance
   under section 320 of the Clean Water Act. Due to its natural beauty, favorable climate,
   and economic health, the Puget Sound Basin continues to grow in population. Indicators
   of pollution, however, began to emerge in the Sound, particularly in urban embayments.
   These indicators included contaminated sediments, tumors in fish livers, closed shellfish
   beds; loss of habitat, and high levels of some toxics in certain marine mammals. In
   response to growing public concern, in 1985 the Washington State Legislature created the
   Puget Sound Water Quality Authority to develop a comprehensive management plan to
   reduce and eventually eliminate harm to Puget Sound from pollution. The Authority was
   also charged to oversee implementation of the plan. The comprehensive management plan
   has been completed and it includes a wide range of pollution control strategies which
   address point source discharges, stormwater runoff and other nonpoint sources, contami-
   nated sediments, wetlands and habitat protection, shellfish bed restoration, spill preven-
   tion and response, monitoring and research, public involvement and education, as well as
   funding mechanisms and other supporting programs. This paper briefly outlines the
   pollution control strategies in each program and identifies some of the successes and
   challenges resulting from implementation. (Author abstract)

James M. Sempere and Dana C. Rowan. 1983. Connecticut embayments study: a basis for
allocating state and local resources for coastal management in the 1980s. p 2251 in: Coastal
Zone '83: Proceedings of the third symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American
Society of Civil Engineers, New York, NY, USA.

   ABSTRACT: The Connecticut Embayments Study documents a unique and systematic
   analysis of environmental problems facing the Connecticut coastline. Developed under a
   mandate of the Connecticut General Assembly (Special Act 80-45), the Study includes
   analysis of seven (7) key environmental problem categories: shoreline erosion, siltation,
   water pollution, flow constrictions, eutrophication, wetland loss, and shellfish loss. This

12








   paper describes the methodology developed and selected results obtained by the study,
   and focuses on the realized and future management uses of the study.

2.3.2 Questionable Parameters and Research

Edward R. Long. 1983. A multidisciplinary approach to assessing pollution in coastal waters.
p 163 in: Coastal Zone '83: Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Manage-
ment. American Society of-Civil Engineers, New York.

   ABSTRACT: An approach to assessing toxic substance levels and effects in coastal
   waters has been devised and applied in Puget Sound by NOAA. This step-wise approach
   was implemented in an effort to determine the nature and extent of toxic chemical
   problems and to identify high-priority areas for focusing clean-up activities. It could be
   used elsewhere in a variety of applications. This paper briefly describes the approach, the
   rationale for each step and selected results obtained from Puget Sound.

Cendreo, A. 1989. Land-use problems, planning and management in the coastal zone: An
introduction. Ocean Shoreline Manage. 12(5-6): 367-381.

   ABSTRACT: A brief review of the main environmental problems affecting the coastal
   fringe is presented. The types of resources present in it are considered, as well as the
   existing trends in the occupation of coastal areas, particularly in relation to tourism and
   recreation. The problems of environmental degradation, competing land-uses, planning
   and management produced as a result of human occupation and resource exploitation are
   discussed. Finally, some comments are made on the tasks that should be undertaken to
   reduce existing problems, both in the field of research and in the realm of planning,
   legislative and administrative actions. The need for an integrated policy of research,
   planning and management at the European level is stressed.
   AN: Cendreo lists a number of existing problems, but cites coastal erosion as perhaps the
   most widespread coastal hazard throughout the world, affecting 50% of the world's coasts
   and contributing as much sediment as all rivers. To address these problems, the author
   recommends a plunidisciplinary" approach, that the cooperation of the natural and social
   sciences and engineering is essential for proper understanding of the complex problems
   involved in coastal zone management. However, there is no reference to the public's
   ability to understanding the research.

Underwood, A.J.; Peterson, C.H. 1988. Towards an ecological framework for investigating
pollution. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 46(1-3): 227-234.

   ABSTRACT: Three aspects of the study of effects of pollution in marine systems are dis-
   cussed. First is the evaluation of relative sensitivities and reliabilities of different methods
   of detecting pollution, including a brief contrast of processes operating in mesocosms and
   in the field. Second is the problem of interpretation of pollution, i.e. determining the
   importance of the observed effects of pollution to the biological system. Finally, there is
   the problem of prediction of future consequences of pollution. A mixture of different


                                                                                          13








   types of measures allows the best synthesis of predictive power while providing the most
   useful information for interpretation of the consequences of pollution to a marine system.

Nelson, W.G. 1990. Prospects for development of an index of biotic integrity for evaluating
habitat degradation in coastal systems. Chem. Ecol. 4(4): 197-210.

   ABSTRACT: A multivariate index for assessment of habitat quality and its degradation,
   the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), has been developed for stream fish communities. The
   extension of the IBI concept to coastal waters is proposed by the development of an
   estuarine IBI based on macrobenthos and submerged aquatic vegetation. Eleven variables
   are proposed for inclusion in the index, although further consideration of the appropriate-
   ness of several variables is required. It is concluded that development of an IBI for
   coastal systems is feasible.
   AN: The eleven variables are (1) species richness and composition of macrofauna; (2)
   percent of individuals as amphipods; (3) percent of individuals as opportunistic species;
   (4) percent of individuals as polychaetes/oligochaetes; (5) percent of individuals as
   molluscs; (6) percent of individuals as deposit feeders; (7)percent of individuals as
   carnivores; (8) Mean number of individuals per sample; (9) dominance of most abundant
   species; (10) mean size of organisms in the habitat; and (11) percent cover of submerged
   aquatic vegetation.


2.4 Citizen Monitoring Parameters

Various management agencies and environmental interest groups have explored the concept
of citizen monitoring. This topic is also discussed in the public participation section, but it
also shows the kinds of parameters these agencies and environmental groups deem suitable
for volunteer monitoring programs.' This approach is useful because it allows for the
inexpensive collection of data and it helps to educate the public on the more sophisticated but
unfamiliar indicators of quality in the coastal zone. Programs as those described in Lee
(1985) and Campbell and Ellett (1991) may help bridge the gap between the differing
perceptions of problems and solutions in the coastal zone and provide for useful indicators of
quality in the coastal zone.

Lee, V. 1991. Salt Pond Watchers, citizen monitoring for better government decisions.
p 1241 in: Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium on Coastal and Ocean
Management v 2. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

   ABSTRACT: Since 1985, 50 Salt Pond Watchers have monitored the effects of develop-
   ment on 7 estuarine bays in Rhode Island. Volunteers test the waters biweekly for


     There has been a lively debate for years over the value of citizen or volunteer monitor-
ing programs as a supplement to governmental monitoring programs. The issue is largely one
of data integrity and quality control concerns versus the public education and involvement
value of volunteer monitoring programs.

14








   temperature, dissolved oxygen (LaMotte kit), salinity (salinometer), and turbidity (Secchi
   disk), and collect water samples for chlorophyll, nutrient, and fecal coliform testing at
   university, state, and federal labs. Volunteers also check for eelgrass-wasting disease,
   conduct waterfowl counts, and measure rainfall. Results are used by state and municipal
   government agencies for shell fish closures, zoning changes, wastewater management
   policies, and state water quality reports for EPA. The program's goals are to develop
   long-term trends for use in management decisions and research and to foster a sense of
   stewardship for these resources. Volunteers assist with coordination, data management,
   and editing a quarterly newsletter, 'Salt Ponds.' Funding is from Rhode Island Sea Grant
   with in-kind contributions from URI, the Rhode Island Department of Health, and the
   Federal Food and Drug Administration. (Author abstract)

Campbell, Gayla; Ellett, Kathleen. 1991. Citizen monitoring component of the Maryland
Targeted Watershed Project. pp 1231-1240 in: Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the Seventh
Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management v 2. American Society of Civil Engineers,
New York.

   ABSTRACT: The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has conducted a water quality testing
   program using volunteers since July of 1985. This program has laid the foundation for
   volunteers to help Bay managers augment data gathering in near-shore areas of tributaries
   to the Bay. In the Spring of 1989, the State of Maryland began the Targeted Watershed
   Project which is a cooperative effort by local, state, federal government agencies and
   private organizations. Management of these small tributaries could help improve aquatic
   values not only within each watershed but also in the larger downstream tributaries
   including the Chesapeake Bay. The Alliance is recruiting and training citizens to monitor
   seven different physical and chemical variables on a weekly basis. Quality assured,
   citizen generated data in the targeted watershed project will enhance the capability of
   implementing effective management practices. Other citizen participation activities are
   essential to the project. These include streamwalk surveys, cleanups, scout projects,
   wildlife habitat enhancement and watershed reforestation. It is hoped that the success of
   these projects will lead to additional watershed programs in the Chesapeake Bay and that
   citizen involvement will continue to be an integral part of every program. (Author
   abstract).
   AN: The seven physical and chemical variables were dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, air
   and water temperature, daily precipitation, reading USGS staff gauges, and site and
   weather observations























































164








            3. Direct Measurements and Bioindicators


Most of the useful indicators of environmental quality focus around water quality standards
and biological indicators. Water quality indicators are an extension of the early 1900s
drinking water standards. These are the oldest of all indicators, and debates over efficacy,
advantages, or limitations are rare. Despite their limitations for environmental characteriza-
tion, direct measurements of water quality are still useful. Measurements of dissolved
oxygen, pH, turbidity, or heavy metals are necessary parameters for assessing public health
and water quality standards. They also have great value for comparison with historical
readings to show how water quality has either been improved or degraded. Although
chemical analysis can indicate the presence of contamination, it does not necessarily
determine its effect on the environment. This limitation lead researchers to look at the
environmental effects on living organisms which lead to the use of bioindicators for deter-
mining environmental quality.


3.1 Direct Measurements

Since there'is a long history of direct measurement of physical or chemical parameters,
researchers have had the time to develop standard methods which make this field a good
candidate for an environmental quality indicator. Burroughs and Lee (1988) give a represen-
tative example of how existing water quality standards can be, used to evaluate the effective-
ness of various environmental programs. Other examples of how direct measurements are
still being used will be discussed in the Benthos and Bivalves sections.

The problem with direct measurements of water quality is that they only provide a snapshot
view of the environment. Because of the often dynamic nature of coastal systems, this is not
always the best measurement of environmental quality (Segar and Stamman 1986). Compre-
hensive time series testing can ameliorate this drawback, but the frequent sampling and
testing requirements tend to be cost prohibitive.

Burroughs, R.H.; Lee, V. 1988. Narragansett Bay pollution control: An evaluation of
program outcome. Coast. Manage. 16(4): 363-377.

       ABSTRACT: Program evaluation is applied to estuarine management. Point source
       loadings of oxygen demanding organic material and ambient conditions of bottom
       water dissolved oxygen in the upper reaches of the Narragansett estuary were
       examined over recent decades to determine the effects of a sewage treatment plant in
       reducing pollution. Two tests of program outcome are presented. The first demon-
       strates that a statistically significant increase in bottom water dissolved oxygen is
       correlated with a sewage treatment plant upgrade. The second analysis shows that
       these improvements in water quality exceed those that could be attributed to improved
       background conditions caused by reduced loading from the major river.


                                                                                         17








Segar, D.A.; Stamman, E. 1986. Monitoring in support of estuarine pollution management
needs. pp. 874-877 in: Oceans '86 Conference record: Science Engineering Adventure. vol.
3. Monitoring Strategies Symposium. Marine Technology Soc., Washington, DC; IEEE,
New York.

        ABSTRACT: Estuaries are extremely dynamic ecosystems in which substantial spatial
        and temporal heterogeneity exists, and dramatic climatically-controlled biological
        changes can occur from year-to-year. As a result, the traditional monitoring of
        biological populations or of environmental pollutant concentrations is usually ineffec-
        tive since, even if very large numbers of samples are taken, environmentally-signifi-
        cant degrees of pollutant-induced change cannot be statistically isolated from natural
        change. A successful, estuarine pollution monitoring program must include a hierar-
        chy of direct and indirect measurements, and the program results must be carefully
        evaluated to derive a cohesive picture of the state of the estuarine system.


 3.2 Bioindicators

Chemical analysis can indicate the presence of contamination, but not its effect on the
environment. Since these effects are commonly biological, it is quite logical that researchers
would look toward bioindicators for determining environmental quality (James 1979).
Unfortunately, the time period searched in this literature review did not include the early
works. As we see in Thomas et al. (1973), the field was already well established over twenty
years ago with highly evolved research involving indicators at the cellular, organismal, and
community levels. The move toward bioindicators not only not solved the environmental
effect problem, it also addressed the problem of static measurements in a dynamic system
(Dickson et al. 1980).

Although bioindicators gave the advantage of integrating many environmental factors over
long periods of time, early use was limited because results were not quantifiable and thus
could not be used as a basis for remedial action (James and Evison 1979). This early critique
might have been the challenge that directed the some of the research trends detailed in the
next section. Today, the concept of bioindicators has an almost universal acceptance in the
literature.

One strength of the general bioindicator literature is the fairly regular conceptual reviews and
evaluations. These include Laughlin (1986), Lower and Kendall (1990), McCarthy and
Shugart (1990), and Funke (1993). Ellis (1991), in a simple yet elegant experiment, gives a
perfect example of the efficacy of bioindicators in describing how bioindicators can be used
to detect environmental contaminants that would be extremely costly under a direct measure-
ment program. These papers show that there is still wide support for the bioindicator model
of determining environmental quality.

The bioindicator field has developed two large and specialized components involving either
benthic organisms and sediments, or bivalve molluscs. Because these groups are so large,


ï¿½18








they will each be treated in their own separate chapters: Chapter 4 for bivalves and Chap-
ter 5 for benthic organisms. Other, less common examples of bioindicators include unicellu-
lar organisms (e.g., bacteria (Plusquellec et al. 1991) and microalgae (Gilbert et al. 1992)),
macroalgae (Ho 1990) and seagrasses (Dennison et al. 1993), and animals as single individu-
als, e.g. fish (Jacobsson et al. 1986 and Rodgers et al. 1990), or as populations or communi-
ties (see Funke 1993)

3.2.1 Efficacy, Reviews and Evaluations

James, A. 1979. The Value of Biological Indicators in Relation to other Parameters of Water
Quality. Chapter 1 in: Biological Indicators of Water Quality. A. James and Lillian Evison
eds. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. New York.

       ABSTRACT: Water quality needs to be defined in relation to the use for which the
       water is required. The value of biological indicators needs to be judged on a similar
       basis. In reviewing the value of biological indicators some general points emerge. The
       most striking of these is the relative neglect of biological compared with chemical
       methods of assessment. Since water pollution is in many instances a biological
       phenomenon, it would appear logical that it ought to be measured biologically. This
       may be due in part to a lack of understanding of biological data but in many cases it
       is due to the non-quantitative nature of much of the information. For example in the
       case of organic pollution, if a stream with a standard of 4 mg/l for BOD has a
       concentration of 8 mg/l then the BOD load must be halved. But a Trent Index of V,
       when a standard of VIII is required, does not provide the same basis for remedial
       action. Another general point is the tendency to regard biological and chemical
       methods of assessment as alternatives. This view does not take account of the
       different kinds of information that they provide. Biological indicators show the degree
       of ecological imbalance that has been caused and chemical methods measure the
       concentration of pollutant(s) responsible. Both types of assessment are therefore
       necessary. (edited author abstract)

       ANNOTATION: Note that one of the authors points parallel one of the problems
       detailed in the Perception section; that water quality definitions should consider the
       use for which the water is intended.

Thomas, W. A.; Wilcoa, W. H.; Goldstein, G. 1973. Biological indicators of environmental
quality. A bibliography of abstracts. Ann Arbor Science Publishers Inc., Ann Arbor.

       ABSTRACT: An extensive bibliography is provided on the subject of biological
       indicators. The selected abstracts emphasize the practical aspects of interpreting the
       biological manifestations of deteriorated environmental conditions and are organized
       so that users can focus their attention at any level of biological organization. (Edited
       abstract).

       ANNOTATION: The abstracts are organized into chapters based on the level of
       biological organization, and include molecular and cellular indicators, individual plant

                                                                                          19








       and animal indicators, and finally, community level indicators which include biotic
       indices, diversity indices, and saprobic indices.

Dickson, Kenneth L., David Gruber, Christine King, and Kenneth Lubenski. 1980. Biologi-
cal Monitoring to Provide an Early Warning of Environmental Contaminants. in: Biological
monitoring for environmental effects. Douglas L. Worf, ed. D.C. Heath and Co.

       ABSTRACT: Biological monitoring approaches have at least two uses in protecting
       aquatic ecosystems from damage from potentially hazardous chemical substances.
       First; the responses of aquatic organisms upon exposure to a chemical substance can
       be used to estimate the hazards associated with the use of the chemical substance.
       Second, biological monitoring systems can be used to continuously monitor the quality
       of the aquatic ecosystem and detect the presence of harmful environmental contami-
       nants. By using information on the environmental fate of a chemical substance along
       with data on its effects, an assessment of hazard can be established. The environment
       can then be protected by means of decisions to ban or limit the use of potentially
       hazardous materials. A description of the biological monitoring techniques under
       investigation by the authors is presented. Living organisms serve as indicators of
       environmental quality by monitoring the ventilatory behavior, activity, and locomotor
       behavior of fish.

3.2.2 Overviews and Evaluations

A. James and Lilian Evison eds. 1979. Biological indicators of water quality. John Wiley &
Sons Ltd. New York.

       ANNOTATION: Previous water quality assessments have relied upon chemical and
       physical techniques, to relative neglect of biological factors. This is surprising
       because in many cases, the aim is the preservation of biological amenities. Biological
       methods for assessing water quality have many advantages. For example they can
       integrate many different environmental factors over a long period of time. However,
       they suffer from disadvantages in failing to provide a numerical basis for remedial
       action (edited preface). This book provides a comprehensive review of the role of
       biological indicators in the assessment of water quality. If also offers a critique on the
       role of bioindicators and serves to warn researchers that it is not a panacea.

Laughlin, R.B.; Guard, H.E. 1986. Biomonitors: Practice and concepts. pp. 862-866 in:
Oceans '86 conference record: science engineering adventure. vol. 3. Monitoring Strategies
Symposium. Marine Technology Soc., Washington.

       ABSTRACT: The usefulness of organisms as biomonitors of environmental quality
       has been demonstrated repeatedly during episodes of acute poisoning. Management
       goals now largely seek to avoid or mitigate these occurrences, concomitant with
       introduction of chemicals to the environment. Biomonitors have largely been adopted
       as sentinel organisms to warn of excess bioavailability of xenobiotics. Uptake and
       retention processes in any organisms, however, are only semi-passive, so that

'20








       metabolic processes may influence both concentration ranges over which accumulation
       occurs, and mechanisms controlling it.

Lower, W. R.; Kendall, R. J. 1990. Sentinel Species and Sentinel Bioassay. pp 309-331 in:
Biomarkers of Environmental Contamination. Lewis Pub., Chelsea, Michigan.

       ABSTRACT: Assessment of the toxic effects of environmental contamination and the
       development of biological early warning systems for appraisal of these toxic effects
       can be advanced by the use of sentinel species and sentinel bioassays. A sentinel
       species can be defined as any domestic or wild microorganism, plant or animal, that
       can be used as an indicator of exposure to and toxicity of a xenobiotic that can be
       used in assessing the impact on human and/or environmental health because of the
       organism's sensitivity, position in a community, likelihood of exposure, and geo-
       graphic and ecological distribution or abundance. A sentinel species can be any
       organism or tissue of an organism that fulfills the need as a suitable subject upon
       which to perform bioassay and chemical analysis. The selection of organisms and
       changes in biological functions as sentinels can be made from currently used species
       and bioassays. In addition, an effort can be made to 'plan' a species and"plan' a
       bioassay by developing a list of desired characteristics for both, discuss these with
      knowledgeable colleagues and, in a purposeful manner, come up with a best-effort
       combination which will accomplish the desired biological monitoring. Fish have been
       used-as indicators of environmental contamination, including fish from the Great
       Lakes, from Torch Lake, Michigan, from wastewater treatment ponds in Alabama,
       and from the Fox River in Illinois. Marine fish from Puget Sound, the Hudson River,
       and Boston Harbor have also been used as bioindicators. (Lantz-PTT)

McCarthy, John F, and Lee R. Shugart editors. 1990. Biomarkers of Environmental
Contamination. CRC Press, Boca Raton.

       ANNOTATION: Biological markers are measurements at the molecular, biochemical,
       or cellular level in either wild populations or in organisms experimentally controlled
       to determine exposure to toxic chemicals, and the magnitude of the organism's
       response to the contaminant. Biological markers measures in wild animals can directly
       contribute to detecting, quantifying, and understanding the significance of exposure to
       chemicals in the environment. (edited preface)

Funke, W. 1993. Animals as indicators of alterations of the environment-A survey.
Phytocoenologia 23: 363-375.

       ABSTRACT: Microorganisms, lower and higher plants, and animals (as single
       individuals, populations or as more or less complex communities) may in manifold
       ways, serve as indicators of natural and/or anthropogenic alterations of the environ-
       ment, next to tests of most important physical and chemical factors of air, water and
       soil. Due to their far-reaching relationships animals are more depending than autotro-
      phic plants on the conditions of habitat, including food and other living compounds of
       ecosystems. Therefore they are also responding to influences which cause alterations

                                                                                         21








       on other organisms. Further, animals are generally very mobile; metazoans possess
       sense organs and nervous systems and all of them display behaviour. By this, they
       register not only alterations of air, water, soil, and food, but also of optic, acoustic,
       olfactoric, and - partly - of electromagnetic patterns of stimulations of their surround-
       ings. They respond to manipulations of the structure and function of landscape, on the
       decrease of their living space, on noise molestations etc. For animals with special
       demands on space and structure of their habitat changes of vital conditions will cause
       a decrease of fertility and/or an increase of emigration, and result in both, a decline
       of population density, and after all a decline of species numbers. Substantial
       pollutions, caused not only by industry and traffic, but also by agriculture and
       forestry, e.g. by excessive use of fertilizers or lime-depositing, and pesticides, will
       have the same effect. Toxic substances are often accumulated within food chains. This
       causes grave damages of health and even death, particularly in vertebrates. Thus
       animals will respond to a lot of influences and alterations esp. made by mankind. This
       is of fundamental interest. However for indication of a single stress factor less spe-
       cialized responses are of rather considerable disadvantage. Investigations in full details
       are necessary in order to reach certain conclusions. In a rising manner this has
       already been done with marine, fresh-water and terrestrial animal species of various
       systematic and trophic groups. In a short survey the suitability of bioindication by
       animals is represented. Thereby it was differentiated at first between sensitive (or
       reactive) and accumulative bioindicators and secondly between aquatic and terrestrial
       species (or communities) or rather between indicators of toxic elements and dangerous
       organic substances.

Ellis, D. V. 1991. New Dangerous Chemicals in the Environment: Lessons from TBT.
Marine Pollution Bulletin 22(1): 8-10.

       ABSTRACT: Tributyltin (TBT), a broad spectrum pesticide, was introduced into the
       marine environment in boat antifouling paints and on salmon farm pen nets. Its use
       resulted in oyster farm losses, and it was found to accumulate in salmon and enter the
       human food chain. Measurement of TBT at (toxic) ppb levels requires expensive
       instruments and skilled operators. However, there is a biological indicator that is
       cheap to measure, requires little instrumentation, only basic anatomical dissection and
       observational skills, and is quick. This is imposex, the imposition of male characters
       on females. The response has been induced experimentally by TBT bioassays. The
       measurement technique has been refined so that it is now applicable routinely to
       neogastropod mollusks, which are easily collected, abundant, and globally distributed.
       Imposex has many qualities of good biological indicators, providing a quick, low
       precision surrogate measure of an environmental parameter. Because it can be applied
       easily, it can be used to indicate where the more expensive and time-consuming direct
       chemical measures should be made for the suspected toxin.






22








3.2.3 Examples

Plusquellec, A.; Beucher, M.; Le Lay, C.; Le Gal, Y.; Cleret J.J. 1991. Quantitative and
qualitative bacteriology of the marine water surface microlayer in a sewage-polluted area.
Mar. Environ. Res. 31(3): 227-239.

       ABSTRACT: This thin microlayer constituted of organic matter which is present at
       the sea-air interface has been shown to accumulate bacteria and, therefore, represents
       a phenomenon of sanitary significance. The enrichment of indicator bacteria observed
       within the neuston, in relation to subsurface water contamination, has been followed
       in three stations presenting different contamination levels and various types of
       pollution. The bacterial enrichment in the neuston has been estimated to range from
       24- to 720-fold in comparison with subsurface water. For a given sampling station the
       enrichment observed for the four bacterial groups considered is rather homogeneous.
       In contrast, clear differences appear between the stations.

Gilbert, F.; Galgani, F.; Cadiou, Y. 1992. Rapid assessment of metabolic activity in marine
microalgae: Application in ecotoxicological tests and evaluation of water quality. Mar. Biol.
112(2): 199-205.

       ABSTRACT:: A new method for the assessment of the effects of several contaminants
       on marine microalgae, Tetraselmis suecica (Kyling) Butcher, Skeletonema costatum
       (Grev.) Cleve, and Prorocentrumn lima (Ehrenberg) Dodge was developed in 1990.
       The method is based on the measurement of cell esterase activity using a fluorimetric
       stain, fluorescein diacetate (FDA), selected from amongst three stains (FDA, Neutral
       Red, thiazolyl tetrazolium bromure) for its higher sensitivity. Biochemical (K sub(m),
       V sub(max)) and physiological (growth, specific activity) aspects of the enzymatic
       activity as revealed by the FDA method are discussed. Different categories of com-
       pounds (weed-killers, insecticides, metals) and some water samples from Seine Bay
       were tested for their toxic effects on microalgae. Experiments were performed on
       microplates using a fluorimetric microplate reader. The various steps of the experi-
       ments and data-processing were controlled by software. Applications of the system to
       rapid ecotoxicological tests (determination of the IC sub(50), i.e., the concentration at
       which 50% inhibition of growth occurs) and to the assessment of environment quality
       by studying the toxic effect of water samples on microalgae are proposed.

Ho, Y.B. 1990. Ulva lactuca as bioindicator of metal contamination in intertidal waters in
Hong Kong. Hydrobiologia 203(1-2): 73-81.

       ABSTRACT: The use of Ulva lactuca as an indicator of metal contamination was
       assessed by analyzing the levels of Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in the alga
       collected from 24 intertidal sites around the Island of Hong Kong. Twelve of the sites
      are in the rural southern part of the Island where the coastal waters are relatively
      clean. The remaining 12 sites are located in the north and within Victoria Harbour
      which receives, apart from industrial effluents, untreated domestic sewage from a
      population of some 3.5 million. The mean levels of Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb in

                                                                                         23








       Ulva from the urban sites were respectively 4.0, 4.6, 1.8, 2.3, 2.4 and 4.6 folds
       those from the rural sites. However, similar levels of Cd were found in the alga
       amongst all the sites. Locations of high levels of metal contamination, particularly to
       the eastern end of the Harbour, have been identified. Preliminary results indicate that
       Ulva is a good indicator of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb contaminations.

Dinnison, William C., Robert J. Orth, Kenneth A. Moore, J. Court Stevenson, Virginia
Carter, Stan Kollar, Peter W. Bergstrom, and Richard A. Batiuk. 1993. Assessing water
quality with submerged aquatic vegetation. Bioscience 43(2): 86-94.

       ANNOTATION: A mechanism for relating anthropogenic inputs to the health of
       Chesapeake Bay is through determination of relationships among water quality and
       various living resources. The authors used the habitat requirements of submerged
       aquatic vegetation because of their widespread distribution, important ecological role,
       and sensitivity to water quality parameters such as chlorophyll a, dissolved inorganic
       phosphorous, light attenuation, total suspended solids, and dissolved inorganic
       nitrogen.

Jacobsson, A.; Neuman, E.; Thoresson, G. 1986. The viviparous blenny as an indicator of
environmental effects of harmful substances. Ambio. 15(4): 236-238.

       ABSTRACT: The viviparous blenny (Zoarces viviparus) seems to have properties
       necessary for indicating environmental effects of harmful substances. It has two main
       advantages over most other marine fishes: it is stationary during its life-span and the
       hatched fry live within the mother for several months. It was established that pregnant
       females are suitable for laboratory experiments and that exposure to a pulp mill
       effluent at concentrations which did not affect the survival of the mothers caused
       mortality and reduced growth of fry.

Rogers, I.H.; Birtwell, I.K.; Kruzynski, G.M. 1990. The Pacific eulachon (Thaleichthys
pacificus) as a pollution indicator organism in the Fraser River estuary, Vancouver, British
Columbia. Sci. Total Environ. 97-98: 713-727.

       ABSTRACT: Eulachons (Thaleichthys pacificus) return to the Fraser River, British
       Columbia, Canada, each spring and migrate through the estuary to spawn in freshwa-
       ter. During this migration they may be subjected to varying water quality conditions
       due to the discharge of domestic and industrial wastes and land drainage. Fish were
       captured at five estuarine stations in April 1986 and again at three stations in
       April/May 1988. Whole fish also contained DDE and DDD, while PCBs were present
       in some fish gonads in 1986, but not in 1988. With the exception of whole body
       concentrations of 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, concentrations of pentachlorophenol,
       3,4,5-trichloroguaiacol, tetrachloroguaiacol, DDE and DDD in whole bodies, livers
       and gonads revealed an increasing trend with distance of the eulachon capture site
       upstream from the Fraser River mouth. Marked differences occurred in the concentra-
       tion of contaminants in eulachon livers. The relatively high lipid content of eulachons


24








       suggests them to be potential integrators of low-level contaminants in the Fraser River
       system.


3.3 Research Trends

Recent research has focused on the finer points of determining which behavior, morphology,
fitness, or community structure of organisms makes the best site-specific or contaminant-
specific indicator.

The first group of papers focuses on improving or fine tuning the bioindicator model. For
example, Sinderman (1988) looked at the biological effects of contaminants to identify why
certain organisms make good bioindicators, while Clark (1989) performed extensive tests on
caged animals and judged the efficacy of various bioindicator approaches. Similarly, Adams
(1990) reviewed and judged the efficacy of several methods that made assessments of stress
on fish. In a more specialized paper, Quintero and Diaz (1994) show how bioindicators can
be used to detect specific contaminants, e.g., aliphatic hydrocarbons.

The second group offers some general criticisms about bioindicators. Puccia (1983) notes that
while the single species bioindicator model is more quantitative, it can give false results due
to community interactions such as competitive dominance, and therefore recommends using
the qualitative measure of community analysis. In a more specialized criticism, Landres et al.
(1988) contends that vertebrates do not make effective or credible ecological indicators. This
paper represents the group debating for or against certain types of bioindicators. Long and
Chapman (1985) was the most critical paper found, but their critique only argued that
bioindicators should be used as a part (albeit an important part) of a larger monitoring
scheme which include measures of sediment contamination and toxicity. However, none of
these critiques reject the general concept of bioindicators.

The third group answers the need for a qualitative measure, but they also take a more
ecological tack. Bechtel and Copeland (1970) note that an effect of estuarine pollution is a
change in the structure of all trophic levels, and thus the entire estuarine community. They
therefore utilized a fish species diversity index as an indicator of environmental stress.
Swartz (1972) reviews several indicators of environmental disturbance including population
dynamics, community structure, and community metabolism. More recently, is Fausch et al.
(1990) who call for using an index of biotic integrity, a more complex approach.

Finally, there is the emerging field of biodivirsity. Biodiversity has become both a national
and international issue, but there has been less attention paid to biodiversity loss in marine
and coastal ecosystems (Beatley 1991 and Wieting 1991). Moreover, the evidence suggests
that serious losses will occur in estuarine fish (Moyle and Leidy 1991). DeFreese (1991)
found threats to the biodivirsity of estuarine ecosystems of Florida, and noted that coastal
zone management programs do not address biodivirsity loss. Unfortunately, the concept of




                                                                                          25








biodiversity does not yet provide a meaningful measure of environmental quality.2 The
biodivirsity literature is still in its descriptive stage and researchers have yet develop a
quantitative measure to evaluate biodiversity? Managers, therefore, cannot know what consti-
tutes an acceptable condition of biodiversity.

3.3.1 Fine tuning the bioindicators model

Sindermann, C. J. 1988. Biological Indicators and Biological Effects of Estuarine/ Coastal
Pollution. Water Resources Bulletin 24(5): 931-939.

       ABSTRACT: Sustained interest in and concern about the health status of the aquatic
       environment has resulted in extensive research focused on (1) effects of pollution on
       survival, growth, and reproduction of resource species at all life stages; (2) diseases
       of fish and shellfish, as they may be related to pollution and as they may serve as
       indicators of environmental stress; and (3) contaminant body burdens in fish and
       shellfish--their effects on the aquatic animals and their potential effects on humans.
       Effects, lethal and sublethal, of pollutants on life history stages of fish and shellfish
       have been documented, as have impacts on local stocks in badly degraded habitats,
       but as yet there has been no adequate quantitative demonstration of effects on entire
       aquatic species--probably because of the difficulty in sorting out relative effects of the
       many environmental factors that influence abundance. Sublethal effects, especially
       those that result in disease, have been examined intensively, and some diseases and
       disease syndromes have been associated statistically with pollution. Other pollution
       indicators (biochemical, physiological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological) have also
       received some attention, as have body burdens of contaminants in aquatic species.
       Research, especially that conducted during the past decade, has done much to clarify
       the many pathways and toxic effects of contaminants on aquatic animals, and has also
       helped to identify mechanisms for survival of fish and shellfish in the presence of
       environmental changes caused by human activities.






    2 Global Marine Biological Diversity (Elliot A. Norse, 1993, Island Press, Washington)
provides a thorough and well written discussion of marine biological diversity, threats to
biodivirsity, impediments to and tools for conservation, and specific recommendations for
implementing an action plan. No quantitative definition of biodivirsity is provided, but this
book was written for a nontechnical audience.

    I The ecological and biostatistics literature includes a number of measures of diversity,
some developed in the 1940s. These 'diversity indices' require specific census data for all the
species contributing to the regional diversity. On the scale of a small plot of land, these
diversity indices are quite practical. On the scale of an entire estuary, they have immense and
impractical demands for census data.

26








Clark, J.R. 1989. Field studies in estuarine ecosystems: A review of approaches for
assessing contaminant effects. pp. 120-133 in: Aquatic toxicology and hazard assessment:
12th volume. Cowgill, U.M.;Williams, L.R. eds.

       ABSTRACT: A sampling strategy designed around contaminant source (agricultural
       runoff, direct discharge) and fate (solubles, particulates, sediments) and the hydrody-
       namics of the system studied is required to characterize the exposure of estuarine
       biota to contaminants. Field data obtained on contaminant effects should be applicable
       to risk assessment in order to verify approaches to predicting contaminant fate and
       effects in estuarine systems. Survival of caged test animals at field test sites provides
       data for direct comparison with laboratory toxicity test results. Coupling survival and
       other effects data from caged animal studies with assessments of stocks and dynamics
       of populations of the same or a related species at the field site may allow extrapola-
       tion from simple laboratory and field test results (acute or chronic) to more complex
       and ecologically significant endpoints.

Adams, S. Marshall. 1990. Status and Use of Biological Indicators for Evaluating the Effects
of Stress on Fish. Biological indicators of stress in fish. American Fisheries Society Sympo-
sium 8:1-8. Adams, S.M., Ed.

       ABSTRACT: Laboratory bioassays and other conventional methods of assessing stress
       on aquatic organisms generally lack ecological realism because of the many envi-
       ronmental factors that can influence stress responses at all levels of biological
       organization. The biological indicator approach involves measurement of a suite of
       selected stress responses at several levels of biological organization to assess sub
       lethal stress effects on fish. to give early warning of stress, and to obtain insights into
       causal relationships between stressors and effects manifested at higher levels of
       biological organization. The types of stress responses measured range from those at
       the subcellular and biochemical levels to those at the ecosystem level: the responses
       segregate along gradients of toxicological and ecological relevance and of response
       time. Companion papers in this volume survey the known indicators of stress at each
       level of organization and assess their practical uses for evaluation and prediction of
       chronic stress effects on fish populations and communities.

Quintero, S.; Diaz, C. 1994. Aliphatic hydrocarbons in fish from the Canary Islands. Mar.
Pollut. Bull. 28(1): 44-49.

       ABSTRACT: A major fraction of petroleum consists of aliphatic hydrocarbons, which
       may be used to detect the presence of oil in the aquatic environment. In this paper,
       the aliphatic hydrocarbon concentrations found in 56 samples of three fish species
       (Boops boops, Scomberjaponicus, and Sardinapilchardus) are reported, in order to
       evaluate the local petrogenic and pyrogenic contamination.





                                                                                           27








3.3.2 Critiques and improvements

Puccia, Charles J. 1983. Qualitative Models for Marine Environmental Assessment. p, 1 in:
Coastal Zone '83: Proceedings of the third symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management.
American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: To understand the potential use of qualitative analysis in environmental
       impact assessment to marine habitats six models for benthic and intertidal habitats are
       described. These cases illustrate that (1) a species or functional group may be
       buffered from an impact because of the community structure; (2) competitors can be
       either positively or negatively correlated depending on point of entry of an impact; (3)
       changes in substrate composition may modify biotic interactions and the community
       response to environmental perturbation; (4) under certain conditions a lowaly confined
       community may be stable while the widespread community is unstable; (5) longer
       pathways from impact to functional group may dictate the affect of an impact, while
       direct or shorter paths have no affect; (6) for nonequilibrium. communities the
       correlation between an organism and recruitment of settling larvae will be a function
       of the rest of the system in addition to the average abundance of adult and juvenile
       organisms.

       ANNOTATION: The interconnectedness between species form the community
       structure, and determine how an impact will be manifested. Since impacts can differ
       between each of the different models, reliance of the more quantitative single species
       approach can give misleading results. The author suggests that a qualitative analysis
       can be important to an environmental impact analysis.

Landres, P.B.; Verner, J.; Thomas, J.W.Ecological uses of vertebrate indicator species: A
critique. 1988. Conserv. Biol. 2(4): 316-329.

       ABSTRACT: Plant and animal species have been used for decades as indicators of air
       and water quality and agricultural and range conditions. Increasingly, vertebrates are
       used to assess population trends and habitat quality for other species. In this paper the
       authors review the conceptual bases, assumptions, and published guidelines for
       selection and use of vertebrates as ecological indicators. The authors conclude that an
       absence of precise definitions and procedures, confounded criteria used to select
       species, and discordance with ecological literature severely weaken the effectiveness
       and credibility of using vertebrates as ecological indicators.

       ANNOTATION: One of the problems -with vertebrates as indicators is their mobility.
       Contaminant levels in vertebrates may result from exposure in a different location
       rather than being related to the contaminant levels at the test site.






28








Long, E. R.; Chapman, M. P. 1985. A sediment quality triad: Measures of sediment
contamination, toxicity and infaunal community composition in Puget Sound. Mar. Pollut.
Bull. 16(10): 405-415.

       ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the correspondence among
       measures of the three components of the Triad, using available data from several
       studies of Puget Sound. Good overall correspondence among the three components of
       the Triad was observed, based upon a comparison of average values from urban and
       rural portions of the Sound. However, based upon comparison of data on a station-by-
       station basis the chemical data alone were not always reliable indicators of biological
       effects.

3.3.3 Quantitative and Community models

Bechtel, Timothy J.; Copeland, B. J. 1970. Fish species diversity indices as indicators of
pollution in Galveston Bay Texas. Contributions in Marine Science 15: 103-132.

       ABSTRACT: Fish species diversity indices calculated from trawl collections were
       useful indicators of environmental stress in Galveston Bay, Texas. Diversity values
       ranged from 2.2 in the Texas city-Galveston area to 0.02 in the Houston ship channel.
       Thus it is demonstrated that the concept of using species diversity to indicate adverse
       water quality conditions is applicable to the higher tropic levels of an estuary.
       Significant areal and seasonal differences were detected. It was also indicated that
       both biomass and numbers of organisms should be utilized when studying the diversi-
       ty of higher tropic levels. Those areas receiving the greatest amounts of effluents and
       toxic materials (up to 86% effluent by volume) exhibited the lowest mean annual
       diversities. Fish populations could be divided into somewhat separate communities,
       each structured as a response to environmental and pollution stress. In those areas
       receiving the greatest stress, the bay anchovy, Anchoa mitchile, was the dominant
       species. These areas also supported the fewest numbers of large individuals. (Legore
       Washington)

Swartz, R. C. 1972. Biological criteria of environmental change in the Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeake Science 13 (Supplement): S17-S41.

       ABSTRACT: Biological phenomena in the Chesapeake Bay are exceptionally com-
      plex. Simple, unequivocal standards for characterizing biotic conditions are not
       available. A review of techniques for the determination of direction and rate of
       change of conditions in the bay is provided. Specific bioassays and their applicability
       to situations in the bay are discussed. Condition indices, population dynamics,
       community structure, and community metabolism are also sensitive indicators of
       environmental disturbance. For the immediate future it is desirable to rely upon
       several different procedures to document biological changes. The method selected will
       depend upon the habitat, season, and nature of the environmental alteration.



                                                                                         29








Kurt D. Fausch, John Lyons, James Karr, Paul L. Angermeier. 1990. Fish Communities as
Indicators of Environmental Degradation. Biological indicators of stress in fish. American
Fisheries Society Symposium 8:1-8. Adams, S.M., Ed.

       ABSTRACT: The basis for using biological monitoring of fishes to assess environ-
       mental degradation is that the relative health of a fish community is a sensitive
       indicator of direct and indirect stresses on the entire aquatic ecosystem. The most
       common approaches to such assessment of environmental degradation involve use of
       (1) indicator taxa or guilds; (2) indices of species richness, diversity, and evenness;
       (3) multivariate methods; and (4) the index of biotic integrity (IBI). The disadvantages
       of these methods are that they are quantitatively complex, few standard procedures
       exist, samples used to calculate multivariate results define the multivariate space, and
       results can be artifacts of the procedures or data used. The IBI is a composite index
       that integrates attributes of communities, populations, and individual organisms to
       assess biological integrity on the basis of accurate measures of relative abundance. Its
       main advantages are that it is a broadly based ecological index, it is sensitive to
       different sources of degradation, and it produces biologically meaningful and repro-
       ducible results when applied by competent fish biologists. Its disadvantages are that its
       application requires at least moderate species richness and extensive background
       information and that methods for setting some criteria are subjective. It also must be
       modified for different ecological regions, but modifications so far have retained the
       original ecological framework. Future research in biological monitoring by means of
       fish communities should focus on (1) standardization of methods of sampling and data
       analysis; (2) documentation of natural variation in fish communities, against which
       changes due to degradation can be compared; and (3) experimental manipulation to
       test assumptions underpinning all the indices. (edited author abstract)

3.3.4 Biodiversity

Beatley, T. 1991. Protecting biodiversity in coastal environments: Introduction and overview.
Coastal Management 19(1): 1-19.

       ABSTRACT: Much less attention has been paid in recent years to the threats to
       coastal and marine biodiversity, compared to biodiversity in more terrestrial habitats.
       The tremendous biodiversity at risk and the severity and magnitude of the pressures
       being exerted on coastal habitats suggest the need for much greater attention to be
       focused here by both the policy and scientific communities. The threats to coastal
       biodiversity are numerous and include air and water pollution; over exploitation and
       harvesting; the introduction of exotic species; the dramatic loss of habitat due to
       urbanization, agricultural expansion, and other land use changes; and the potentially
       serious effects of global climate change. These threats suggest the need for swift
       action at a number of jurisdictional and governmental levels. Major components of
       such an effort are identified and described.




30








Wieting, Donna S. 1991. Environmental impact assessment and the conservation of marine
biological diversity. pp 330-341 in: Coastal Zone: Proceedings of the Symposium on Coastal
and Ocean Management v 1. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       AB: Legislation is pending to include assessment of biodiversity in the Environmental
       Impact Statement process and revise the National Environmental Policy Act to better
       address the conservation of biological diversity. The loss of biological diversity has
       become a critical issue both nationally and internationally, with the focus on destruc-
       tion of tropical forests and the extinction of terrestrial species. Little attention has
       been given to the loss of biodiversity in other endangered systems, particularly the
       oceans and coastal waters. The goal of this paper is to discuss the environmental
       assessment process of NEPA as a means to conserve marine biological diversity.
       (Author abstract) 20 Refs.

Moyle, P.B.; Leidy, R.A. 1992. Loss of biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems: Evidence from
fish faunas. Conservation biology. pp. 127-169 in: The theory and practice of nature
conservation, preservation, and management. Fiedler, P.L.;Jain, S.K. eds.

       ABSTRACT: Fishes are appropriate indicators of trends in aquatic biodiversity
       because their enormous variety reflects a wide range of environmental conditions.
       Fish also have a major impact on the distribution and abundance of other organisms in
       waters they inhabit. Examination of trends in freshwater fish faunas from different
       parts of the world indicate that most faunas are in serious decline and in need of
       immediate protection. Species most likely to be threatened with immediate extinction
       are either specialized for life in large rivers or are endemic species with very small
       distributions. We conservatively estimate that 20% of the freshwater fish species of
       the world (ca. 1800 species) are already extinct or in serious decline. Evidence for
       serious declines in marine fishes is limited largely to estuarine fishes, reflecting their
       dependence on freshwater inflows, or to fishes in inland seas.

De Freese, D.E. 1991. Threats to biological diversity in marine and estuarine ecosystems of
Florida. Coastal Management 19(1): 73-101.

       ABSTRACT: The Indian River Lagoon of east central Florida and the marine
       ecosystem of the Florida Keys are important natural ecosystems with ecological,
       economic, aesthetic, and recreational values. Both ecosystems have high biological
       diversity and are threatened by a variety of anthropogenic impacts. Although all
       coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems are influenced by an interplay of oceanic and
       terrestrial influences, structural and functional characteristics and anthropogenic
       impacts are often site-specific. Although Florida has enacted a framework of coastal
       zone management legislation, no legislation has specifically addressed the issue of
       biological diversity conservation in marine and estuarine ecosystems.





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32








                                      4. Bivalves


The largest group of papers found in this literature review addressed bivalves: clams and
oysters, but especially mussels. Part of this group's attraction is their sessile nature. This
helps assure researchers and managers that the contaminants absorbed came from the study
site. Another is their wide distribution which is important for experimental reproducibility at
different locations. The most important trait is that as filter feeders, they are able to accumu-
late and concentrate environmental contaminants to concentrations far above the ambient
environmental level. Contaminants which occur below the threshold of detection in the
environment, can more easily be detected using bioassays. One of the more commonly cited
programs utilizes mussels in regional, national, and-even global monitoring programs. They
are referred to as Mussel Watch or Mussel Watch type programs and are distinct enough to
merit own section.

The efficacy of using bivalves as bioindicators is long established, thus we did not pursue the
early research for this literature review. Still, Costa (1989) provides a list of criteria for good
sentinel organisms, and some reasons why mussels would make a good choice. He also
offeres a methodology to optimize the use of Mytilus spp. an a quantitative indicator of
cadmium and mercury contamination.

Other examples of bivalves as a bioindicators had a similar theme: the efficacy of bivalves as
indicators were either assumed or briefly reviewed, followed by a detailed, contaminant-
specific report on bivalves (usually mussels) as the indicator. Although these papers use the
term 'biological indicator,' their methodology is too contaminant-specific to necessarily be
useful for our purpose: a larger scale indicator of environmental quality. They are mentioned
here to show the degree of sophistication in the research, and because some of the specific
tests may be relevant to one aspect of an overall coastal zone quality measure. The contami-
nants include metals (Phillips 1976 and Fischer 1988), carcinogens (Couch et al. 1979),
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (Bender et al. 1986), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin
(Miyata et al. 1987), and range of volatile compounds (Rasmussen et al. 1993)

Cossa, D. 1989. A review of the use of Mytilus spp. as quantitative indicators of cadmium
and mercury contamination in coastal waters. Oceanol. Acta. 12(4): 417-432.

       ABSTRACT: The use of marine mussels to monitor cadmium and mercury contami-
       nation in coastal waters is reassessed on the basis of the current knowledge of metal
       metabolism in Mytlus spp. Sources and amplitude of variation of metal concentra-
       tions in the soft tissues of the mussel are described. Methods (sampling strategies and
       normalizations) for optimizing the use of Mytdlus spp. as quantitative indicators of
       metal contamination are given. Some directions for further research are suggested.

       ANNOTATION: The author begins his review with a summary of the ideal attributes
       of a sentinel organism. These are: (i) it should accumulate contaminants; (ii) it should
       be sedentary; (iii) it should have more than a one year lifespan; (iv )it should provide


                                                                                          33








       sufficient tissue for chemical analysis; (v) it should tolerate a wide salinity range; (vi)
       it should allow direct measurement without pre-concentration; (vii) tissue level
       contaminant should correlate with that in the surrounding waters; and (viii) the effects
       of variations in salinity and temperature are known. a long lifespan and of reasons
       why the mussel Mytilus spp. is a superior choice. (i) the genus is widespread; (ii) the
       animals are sessile; (iii) they accumulate contaminants with a concentration factor of
       103 to 105; (iv) they are relatively resistant to pollution; (v) they can be transplanted;
       (vi) they are euryhaline; (vii) they are a potential source of contaminants in humans.

Phillips, D. J. H. 1976. The Common Mussel Mytilus edulis as an Indicator of Pollution by
Zinc, Cadmium, Lead, and Copper. II. Relationship of Metals in the Mussel to Those
Discharged by Industry. Marine Biology 38: 71-80.

       ABSTRACT: Concentrations of zinc, cadmium, lead and copper were measured in
       whole soft parts of the common mussel Mytilus edulis to determine its potential as a
       bioindicator for trace metals. M. edulis was found to be an efficient time-integrated
       indicator of zinc, cadmium and lead over varied environmental conditions including
       changes in salinity, water temperature, relative metal coficentrations, and depth and
       season of sampling. The mussel was recommended as an alternative indicator to
       sediment and water analysis and was suggested for the monitoring of industrial
       effluents at the discharge site, allowing rapid and inexpensive water quality control.
       Its use as an indicator for copper was discouraged.

Fischer, H. 1988. Mytilus edulis as a quantitative indicator of dissolved cadmium. Final
study and synthesis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 48(2): 163-174.

       ABSTRACT: Juvenile blue mussels Mytilus edulis were cultivated in flow-through
       aquaria to investigate the influence of dissolved cadmium on cadmium accumulation
       (in terms of the Cd/shell-wt index). Where the ratio (by weight) of dissolved Zn to
       Cd remains within the range 25:1 to 60:1, accumulation of Cd is not significantly
       influenced by dissolved Zn. Higher levels of concomitant Zn reduce the Cd/shell-wt
       index. A lower ratio of Zn to Cd may slightly increase Cd accumulation, The
       Cd/shell-wt index is proportional to ambient levels of dissolved Cd up to 100 mu g/l.
       There were no significant effects on growth up to ca 30 mu g/l Cd. Results corre-
       sponded to earlier experimental work and to field surveillance data reported in the
       literature.

Couch, J.A.; Courtney, L.A.; Winstead, J.T.; Foss, S.S. 1979. The American oyster
(Crassostrea virginica) as an indicator of carcinogens in the aquatic environment. pp. 65-84
in: Animals as monitors of environmental pollutants. Symposium on pathobiology of environ-
mental pollutants: animal models and wildlife as monitors.

       ABSTRACT: The American oyster (C. virginica) was used as the experimental
       animal for chronic exposure to 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) and benzo(a)pyrene (BP)
       in an exposure system in which the carcinogens can be continuously injected into free
       flowing water at fixed rates. Experiments showed that they are concentrated in oyster

34








       tissues in direct proportion to the dosage of carcinogen injected into the system.
       Residual concentrations of MC and BP were present in oysters as long as 6 months
       following exposure. Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity was present in
       homogenates of hepatopancreas after 5.5 months of exposure to the carcinogens, in
       contrast to control animals in which AHH activity was quite low.

Bender, M.E.; deFur, P.O.; Huggett, R.J. 1986.Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon monitor-
ing in estuaries utilizing: Oysters, brackish water clams and sediments. pp 791-796 in:
Oceans '86 Conference record: Science Engineering Adventure. vol. 3. Monitoring Strategies
Symposium. Marine Technology Soc., Washington, DC; IEEE, New York.

       ABSTRACT: The monitoring of contamination from polynuclear aromatic hydrocar-
       bons (PAH) in estuarine animals is complicated by the necessity of utilizing different
       species as one progresses upstream along the salinity gradient. In the Chesapeake
       Bay, most tributary sub-estuaries contain two bivalve species, the oyster, Crassostrea
       virginica, and the brackish water clam, Rangia cuneata, which frequently have
       overlapping distributions. This paper describes the use of these species and sediments
       as monitors for PAH contamination in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers.
       Seasonal, species and source related differences are discussed.

Miyata, H.; Takayama, K.; Ogaki, J.; Kashimoto, T.; Fukushima, S. 1987. Polychlorinated
dibenzo-p-dioxins in blue mussel from marine coastal water in Japan. Bull. Environ.
Contam. Toxicol. 39(5): 877-883.

       ABSTRACT: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) are tricyclic aromatic com-
      pounds containing 75 specific isomers. PCDDs have been revealed to generate as a
      by-product in the production process of chlorinated herbicides and in the combustion
      process of domestic and industrial wastes. In this paper, the pollution degree of
      PCDDs in marine coastal water in the authors' country was examined by using blue
      mussel, Mytilus edulis , as a biological indicator because it provided an effective
      trapping mechanism for many environmental pollutants.

Rasmussen, T.; Anthoni, U.; Christophersen, C.; Nielsen, P.H. 1993. Volatile compounds
from the marine indicator organism Mytilus edulis. Chemosphere 27(11): 2123-2125.

      ABSTRACT: The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis is widely used as an indicator organism
      to monitor the chemical conditions of the environment in which it thrives. Although
      volatile compounds relating to oil pollution and to pesticide contamination have been
      intensively investigated other volatiles have received only minor attention. This is
      unexpected owing to the economic importance of the flavor of commercial mussels
      and the importance of monitoring volatile contaminants. Conventional Likens-
      Nickerson gas phase extraction has revealed the potential of this organism to yield
      information, especially on short time variations in the chemical composition of the
      environment. Commercial samples of Mytilus edulis were extracted using a Likens-
      Nickerson extractor and analyzed gas chromatography and combined gas chromatogra-
      phy-mass spectrometry allowing characterization of 33 components. The method is

                                                                                        35








       suited for the study of fluxes of volatile compounds including environmental contami-
       nants in the sea.


4.1 Research Trends

In previous chapters, the "research trends' section summarizes the debate between research-
ers. Here we see similar patterns to those in the foregoing chapters-fine tuning, developing
qualitative models, etc.

The first group of papers deals with fine tuning the use of bivalves as indica tors. For
example, Phillips (1976 and 1977) found that different environmental conditions, salinity and
temperature, would lead to different levels of metal accumulation. But this was more than
just a warning. Philips (1976) also devised and recommended using a sampling program that
would eliminate the effects of those environmental variables. Phillips and Yim (1981)
compared different species as indicators Looking for a more cost effective way to determine
metal contamination, Imber et al. (1987) devised a simple method for quantifying metal-
binding proteins.

The second group of papers addresses the quest for a more quantitative model. These models
include a severity index (Lorda et al. 1981), total body water (Krieger et al. 1981), hemocyte
concentrations (McCormick 1987), adenylate energy charge (Zaroogian and Johnson 1989),
and the oyster condition index ( Austin et al. 1993). While these models give quantifiable
results, they are less useful as indicators of general environmental quality due to their
expense.

The final group of papers reviewed or compared several different research models. For
example, Phelps et al. (1981) confirmed the usefulness of scope for growth and gill-tissue
oxygen consumption for indicating metabolic stress. In a more comprehensive evaluation,
Small et al (1990) evaluated scope for growth, anoxic survival, lysosomal stability and gonad
index in relation to the body's accumulated burden of contaminants. Again, these measures
are not especially useful as environmental indicators, but do show the direction research has
been moving.

4.1.1I Fine Tuning

Phillips, D. J. H. 1976. The Common Mussel Mytilus eduli as an Indicator of Pollution by
Zinc, Cadmium, Lead and Copper. I. Effects of Environmental Variables on Uptake of
Metals. Marine Biology 38: 56-69.

       ABSTRACT: The. net uptake of zinc, cadmium, lead and copper by the common
       mussel, Mytilus edulis L. exposed to different conditions was investigated with a view
       to using this species as an indicator of contamination of the marine environment by
       these metals. Seasonal variation in concentrations of zinc, cadmium and copper was
       found in samples collected at three separate locations. The relationship of seasonal


36








       variation to tissue weight and absorption route of the metals is discussed. Near to
       freshwater inputs of trace metals, the concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead in
       mussels were found to vary according to the depth at which the mussels collected; in
       summer when freshwater run-off is less, this effect was absent. Low salinities did not
       affect the net uptake of zinc of lead. Low temperatures had no effect on the net
       uptake of zinc or lead; the net uptake of cadmium was unaffected by low temperatures
       at high salinities but was decreased by low temperatures at low salinities. The
       presence of the other metals had no effect on the individual net uptake of either zinc,
       cadmium or lead. A sampling program was devised to eliminate the effects of these
       environmental variables and to allow the use of M. edulis as an indicator of zinc,
       cadmium and lead in marine and estuarine environments. (EIS-Katz)

Phillips, D. J. H. 1977. Effects of Salinity on the Net Uptake of Zinc by the Common
Mussel Mytilus edulis. Marine Biology 41: 79-88.

       ABSTRACT: The net uptake of zinc by the common mussel Mytilus edulis (L.) has
       been investigated under different natural and artificial salinity stresses. The effects of
       stable and fluctuating salinities on the uptake of zinc by the mussel are discussed in
       terms of three possible modes of action. Under certain highly-stressful conditions,
       salinity may affect the uptake of zinc by the mussel. This factor should be considered
       when the mussel is used as an indicator of environmental pollution by zinc in
       estuarine areas, or spurious conclusions may result. (Katz)

Phillips, D.J.H.; Yim, W.W. S. 1981. A comparative evaluation of oysters, mussels and
sediments as indicators of trace metals in Hong Kong waters. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.
6(3): 285-293.

       ABSTRACT: Oysters (Saccostrea glomerata = Crassostrea glomerata Gould) from
       the heavily urbanized Victoria Harbour area were contaminated by copper and zinc.
       Data for copper and zinc in sediments confirmed this finding. In addition, mussels
       (Septifer bilocularis (L.)) were collected. Copper concentrations in the mussels were
       in qualitative agreement with the profiles derived from oyster and sediment investiga-
       tions. Zinc was regulated by the mussels to a much greater extent. The authors
       propose that S. bilocularis is unsuitable as an indicator organism of trace metals due
       to partial or complete metabolic regulation. Future studies in the tropics should be
       cognizant of this possibility when employing other previously unstudied bivalve
       species as bio-indicators.

Imber, B.E.; Thompson,-J.A.J.; Ward, S. 1987. Metal-binding protein in the Pacific oyster,
Crassostrea gigas: Assessment of the protein as a biochemical environmental indicator. Bull.
Environ. Contamn. Toxicol. 38(4): 707-714.

       ABSTRACT: The determination of metal-binding proteins in the Pacific Oyster
       (Crassostrea gigas) is reported. The objectives of this study were to employ a simple,
       cost-effective method for quantifying MBP and to assess this parameter for possible
       use, as an indicator of identifiable sources of metal input to biological system.

                                                                                          37








4.1.2 Models

Lorda, E.; Walker, H.A.; Saila, S.B. 1981. A Severity Index to Assess and Monitor the
Incidence of Pollution-Related Pathological Conditions in Marine Organisms. Mar. Environ.
Res. 5(2): 93-108.

       ABSTRACT: A normalised matrix of the occurrences and co-occurrences of n-patho-
       logical conditions in a hypothetical population is termed a severity matrix and was
       used to define a volume in an n-dimensional vector space representing the severity or
       extent of the spread of the conditions in the population. The changes in this volume
       resulting from varying the numbers of occurrences and co-occurrences in the severity
       matrix are described by the varying determinant of the matrix. Actual data from a
       population of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria were used to demonstrate the applica-
       tion of this methodology to characterize the incidence of five pathological conditions
       assumed to be indicators of pollution related stress on the clam population.

Krieger, R.I.; Gee, S.J.; Lim, L.O. 1981. Marine Bivalves, Particularly Mussels, Mytilis
sp., for Assessment of Environmental Quality. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 5(1): 72-86

       ABSTRACT: Marine bivalves such as Mytilus sp,. are widely distributed, vigorous,
       relatively large, and a dominant species in coastal habitats. In addition their filter-
       feeding, and sessile adult behavior facilitate sampling of marine environments in
       studies of the distribution of heavy metals, radionuclides, petroleum hydrocarbons,
       and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Studies have begun to determine whether
       total body water can be used as an indicator of stress. Antipyrine is a useful indicator
       for such studies since it is well tolerated and rapidly cleared by the mussels. This
       body water measurement represents a noninvasive condition index which may be
       valuable in long-term studies. Studies of the uptake, metabolism, and elimination of
       antipyrine and the chlorinated insecticide aldrin have shown that mussels have
       exidative metabolic capability. This result contrasts with findings of previous investi-
       gators and suggests that metabolism should be given careful evaluation in both
       chemical biological studies of effects of persistent environmental pollutants.

McCormick, Ray M. G. 1987. Hemocytes of Mytilus edulis Affected by Prudhoe Bay Crude
Oil Emulsion. Marine Environmental Research 22(2): 107-122.

       ABSTRACT: Hemocytes and tissues of Mytilus edulis were examined after 4-5 or 8-9
       weeks exposure to 390 micrograms/L or 740 micrograms/L Prudhoe Bay crude oil
       emulsion, during the animals' most metabolically active season. A reduction in
       hemocytes occurred in animals exposed to 740 micrograms/L after 4-5 weeks. After
       8-9 weeks, hemocyte counts of both test groups increased, due to higher densities of
       granulocytes, yet the phagocytic response was reduced. Agranulocyte densities were
       reduced in animals exposed to 390 micrograms/L, due to lower counts of 2-3 micron
       agranulocytes. Adipogranular cell percentages in test animals were reduced. The
       initial reduction in granulocytes, their increases with time, and the reduced densities


38








       of agranulocytes in mussels exposed to emulsion may be indicators of a general
       adaptive response to stress.

Zaroogian, G.E.; Johnson, M. 1989. Adenylate energy charge and adenine nucleotide
measurements as indicators of stress in the mussel Mytilus edulis, treated with dredged
material under laboratory conditions. Bull. Environ. Contamn. Toxicol. 43(3): 428-435

       ABSTRACT: Adenylate energy charge (AEC) is an indication of the amount of
       energy available to an organism from the adenylate pool. It is calculated from
       measured concentrations of three adenine nucleotides, adenosine triphosphate (ATP),
       adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP), which are
       integral to the energy metabolism of all organisms. Accordingly, the objective of this
       study was to evaluate the applicability of AEC as a measure of stress in a filter
       feeder, the mussel Mytilus edulis, treated with dredged material under laboratory
       conditions and to determine the degree of variability inherent in the test.

Austin, H.; Haven, D.S.; Moustafa, M.S. 1993. The relationship between trends in a
condition index of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and environmental parameters
in three Virginia estuaries. Estuaries 16(2): 362-374.

       ABSTRACT: Oyster Condition Index (Cl) was partitioned, using a moving average
       filter, into seasonal cycles and long-term trends in the James, York, and
       Rappahannock rivers for the period 1970-1983. Seasonal cyclic fluctuations in CI
       could be explained partially by changes in salinity and number of days within various
       temperature regimes. Long-term trends in the James River show a steady increase in
       CI over the study period, while a concurrent decline was noted in the Rappahannock
       River. Superimposed on these trends is a 4 to 5 yr cycle that is in synchrony with
       river discharge (salinity). In the York River, CI peaked in 1975-1976 at all stations.
       Measured environmental parameters do not sufficiently explain the trends. We
       speculate that the differences in the Rappahannock and James rivers may be due to a
       decline in bottom oxygen as a result of gravitational circulation differences.

4.1.3 Model Reviews

Phelps, D.K.; Galloway, W.; Thurberg, F.P.; Gould, E.; Dawson, M.A. 1981. Comparison
of several physiological monitoring techniques as applied to the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis
along a gradient of pollutant stress in Narrangarsett Bay, Rhode Island. pp. 335-355 in:
Biological Monitoring of Marine Pollutants. Vernberg,-F.J.;Calabrese, A.;Thurberg,
F.P.;Vernberg, W.B. eds.

       ABSTRACT: Sublethal pollutant stress in mussels was clearly detected in a field-
       monitoring situation using these criteria of physiological response: scope for growth,
       tissue residue analysis, and gill respiration and glycolytic rates in either gill or
       posterior adductor muscle. Scope for growth and gill-tissue oxygen consumption are
       both valuable indices of metabolic stress in mussels. Examination of enzyme activity
       in mussel gill and posterior adductor muscle confirmed the results of gill-tissue

                                                                                         39








       oxygen consumption and the scope for growth. Hemolymiph ion and adenylate energy
       charge measurements did not detect pollutant stress in mussels held at the polluted
       field station of this study. The relative abundance of pinnotherid crab commensals
       were considered to be an interesting potential indicator of relative pollution in the
       field. Levels of nickel in Mytilus tissues were remarkably stable over a 3-year period,
       and both nickel and petroleum hydrocarbons reflected the stress gradient in
       Narragansett Bay.

Smaal, A.C.; Wagenvoort, A.; Hemelraad, J.; Akkerman, I. 1990. Response to stress of
mussels exposed in Dutch tidal waters. Physiological and biochemical approaches to the
toxicolofical assessment of environmental pollution. vp

       ABSTRACT: The mussel Mytilus edulis is extensively used as an indicator of
       environmental pollution. The response to stress has been estimated by measuring a
       number of physiological, cytological and histological parameters in mussels from wild
       populations in the Western Scheldt, and in mussels that were transplanted from the
       Eastern Scheldt (clean reference site) to the Western Scheldt and to the Dutch coastal
       zone. Scope for growth, anoxic survival, lysosomal stability and gonad index are
       evaluated in relation to the body burden of a mixture of contaminants.


4.2 Mussel Watch

The term "Mussel Watch" was first introduced by Goldberg (1975). Although his paper was
only a single page, it was an idea whose time had come. The idea of Mussel Watch was to
use bivalves for monitoring contaminant concentrations, and as an indicator of contaminant
bioavailability. Bivalves were chosen because of their worldwide distribution and ubiquitous
abundance, their general ability to bioconcentrate most pollutants, and their sedentary habits.

The initial Mussel Watch program in the United States ran from 1976-1978. During those
three years, mussels and oysters were sampled at 90 to 100 stations and tested for a variety
of contaminants (Farrington et al. 1982). Afterwards, there were a series of evaluations.
Goldberg et al. (1983) concluded that annual monitoring may not be necessary. In another
review, Galloway et al. (1983) determined that the third year's protocol for sample prepara-
tion and quality control was far superior to those in the previous years. Goldberg (1986)
again reviewed results from 1976-78, but this time, reiterated the need for a global mussel
watch program. Finally, in a more critical vein Farrington et al. (1987), not only evaluated
the 1976-1978 Mussel Watch program, but also a Mussel Watch-type program in the United
Kingdom (1977-1970), and noted several limitations, among which were that bivalves were
not always found where measurements were required and that bioaccumulation is affected by
many biotic and abiotic factors.

In 1986, Mussel Watch became a permanent program. Excellent descriptions of this modern
application are found in Freitas and Boehm (1989) and O'Connor (1992). A recent evaluation
of the program highlighted some deficiencies, but was still very supportive of the program


40








(Bayne 1989). Other research supports the program by proposing methods to improve the
efficacy of the model (Lobel 1991).

Mussel Watch may not be what Goldberg envisioned, i.e. it is not yet global, but it certainly
has had an international scope. Following the 1976-1978 Mussel Watch program, Risebrough
et al. (1983) applied the concept in Spain. After 1986, when Mussel Watch became a perma-
nent program, the scope increased even more. Tavares et al. (1988) applied the Mussel
Watch concept in Brazil to obtain, for the first time, monitoring data for the southwest
Atlantic coast, and Martin (1991) describes how Mussel Watch became the most successful
monitoring program in Australia.

Mussel Watch has been a success, so much so that other organizations and researchers have
used Mussel Watch protocol in their own studies and have added their results to the mussel
watch data base (Tureon and Lauenstein (1991) and Boudreau et al. (1993)). With such a
strong background, Mussel Watch should be a part of the overall indicator of quality in the
coastal zone. The only potential challenge is having the public accept it as a standard.

Goldberg, E.D. 1975. The Mussel Watch: A first step in global marine monitoring. Marine
Pollution Bulletin 6(7): 111.

       ANNOTATION: Many global monitoring programs fail because of their vastness and
       complexity. Goldberg proposes using mussels at 100 coastal and open ocean sites to
       monitor, on an annual basis, the concentrations of halogenated hydrocarbons,
      transuranics, heavy metals, and petroleum.

Farrington, J.W.; Risebrough, R.W.; Parker, P.L.; Davis, A.C.; de Lappe, B. 1982.
Hydrocarbons, polychorinated biphenyls, and DDE in mussels and oysters from the U.S.
coast -- 1976-1978 - the mussel watch. La Jolla, California. 111 pp

       ABSTRACT: Mytilus edulis, Mytilus californianus, Crassostrea virginica, and Ostrea
       equestris were sampled at 90 to 100 stations around the United States coastline during
       each of three years -- 1976, 1977, 1978. Data for concentrations of PCB, DDE, total
      hydrocarbons, gas chromatographically unresolved complex mixture hydrocarbons,
      and selected aromatic hydrocarbons are presented for most of the samples.

Goldberg, E.D.; Koide,-M.; Hodge, V.; Flegal,-A.R.; Martin, J. 1983.U.S. Mussel Watch:
1977-1978 results on trace metals and radionuclides. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 16(1): 69-93.

       ABSTRACT: The results of the U.S. Mussel Watch Monitoring Program for the
      period 1976-1978 for trace metals and artificial radionuclides in bivalves are present-
       ed. The substances analysed included Ag, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Pb, super(238)Pu su-
      per(239+240)Pu and super(241)Am. The concentrations of these substances in the
       bivalves may reflect upwelling processes, anthropogenic inputs or natural levels. Off
       the California coast, mussels show markedly elevated Pu and Cd concentrations in
       coastal areas adjacent to the most intensive upwelling zones. Elevated levels of Pb,


                                                                                        41








       for example, are found in organisms living adjacent to highly urbanized places. It is
       concluded that annual monitoring activities may not be necessary.

Galloway, W.B.; Lake, J.L.; Phelps, D.K.; Rogerson, P.F.; Bowen, V.T.; Farrington,
J.W.; Goldberg,-E.D.; Lasetter, J.L.; Lawler, G.C.; et al. 1983. The mussel watch.
Intercomparison of trace level constituent determinations. Environ. Toxicol. Chem.
2(4): 395-410.

       ABSTRACT: The U.S. National Mussel Watch Program initially used split-sample
       analyses for interlaboratory quality control purposes. These indicated the possibility of
       interlaboratory analytical discrepancies as well as problems in the split-sample
       technique itself. For the third year of the program, two mussel homogenates were
       produced to serve as intercomparison samples - one for metals and organics, the
       others for radionuclides. The results obtained using these homogenates are encour-
       aging in that generally good agreement is seen among analyzed done by several labs
       in diverse pollutant classes. The authors conclude from this experience that a quality
       control program relying on the analysis of large homogeneous samples of the matrix
       being dealt with is an essential part of any extensive, multilaboratory analytical
       program.

Goldberg, E.D. 1986. The Mussel Watch concept. Integrated Global Ocean Monitoring 7(1):
91-103.

       ABSTRACT: The use of bivalves as sentinel organisms for collectives of marine
       pollutants is evaluated with data from the U.S. Mussel Watch, 1976-1978. The
       utilization of soft parts and of the shells are compared for metals and plutonium.
       Finally, the need for a global mussel watch, emphasizing the analyses of chlorinated
       hydrocarbon biocides in the tropics and southern hemisphere, is presented.

Farrington, J. W .; Davis, A. C.; Tripp, B. W.; Phelps, D. K.; Galloway, W. B. 1987.
Mussel Watch: Measurements of Chemical Pollutants in Bivalves as One Indicator of Coastal
Environmental Quality. pp 125-139 in: New Approaches to Monitoring Aquatic Ecosystems.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia.

       ABSTRACT: The use of bivalves as bioindicators in monitoring for chemicals of
      environmental concern was evaluated by regional and national programs and by
       smaller scale research efforts in several countries during the past 15 years. Among the
      many programs was a Mussel Watch-type program in the United Kingdom waters in
       1977-1978. Heavy metals, halogenated hydrocarbons, and fossil fuel hydrocarbons
       were measured. Evaluation of this program indicated that it successfully covered the
      area and contaminants of interest, that hot spots and clean or background areas were
       readily identified, and that some contaminants not revealed by previous monitoring
      programs were found. The U.S. Mussel Watch program, conducted during 1976-
       1978, monitored for heavy metals, transuranic radionuclides, fossil fuel hydrocarbons,
       and halogenated hydrocarbons. Very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls
       were found in the New Bedford, Massachusetts area. Plutonium found in mussels

42








       from the Oregon-California border south to Point Fermin was traced to upwelling of
       mid-depth waters from the Pacific Ocean containing fallout from nuclear weapons
      tests, not to radioactive waste dumped in the deep waters nearby. There are some
       limitations of the bivalve monitoring method. Concentrations of contaminants in
       bivalves and biological effects in these organisms cannot be extrapolated to the health
       of entire ecosystems. Body burdens of chemicals in bivalves cannot be extrapolated to
      effects on human health. Bivalves are not always found where measurements are
       required. Bioconcentration factors are not the same for all chemicals. Bioaccumulation
       is affected by many factors, such as reproductive stats, nutrition, temperature, and
       salinity.

4.2.1 Modern Mussel watch

Freitas, Sandra T.; Boehm, Paul D. 1989. Contaminant concentrations in bivalve molluscs
from the U.S. Coastal Atlantic and Pacific. pp 3901-3915 in: Coastal Zone '89: Proceedings
of the Sixth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil
Engineers, New York.

      ABSTRACT: The NOAA Mussel Watch Project, one component of the National
      Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, is a marine monitoring program that measures
       the concentration of over 40 organic contaminants including polynuclear aromatic
      hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and pesticides; 13 trace and
      major metals; organotin compounds; and normalizing parameters (lipid content, TOC,
       etc.) in marine bivalves and surface sediments. Three years of data for contaminants
       in bivalve tissues have been generated at more than 100 Atlantic and Pacific coastal
       sites. Additionally, detailed histopathological observations on bivalves have been
       recorded at some sites. The data provide a comprehensive, national scale assessment
       of the levels of bioavailable contaminants in coastal waters and documentation of
      pathological abnormalities such as neoplasia.

O'Connor, Thomas P. 1992. Mussel Watch: Recent trends in coastal environmental quality.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington.

      ANNOTATION: In 1984, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
      (NOAA) created the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program. The program
      monitors trends of a broad suite of trace metals and organic chemical contamination
       and assesses the effects of human activities on coastal and estuarine areas around the
       nation. It had been analyzing estuarine and coastal sediments and tissue samples from
       selected organisms for a broad suite of trace metals and organic chemicals. Since
       1986, the NOAA Mussel Watch Project, a major component of the NS&T Program,
       has been making the same chemical measurements on surface sediments and whole
       soft-parts of mussels and oysters collected from about 200 coastal and estuarine sites.
       Recent results from the Mussel Watch Project describe the spatial distribution of
      coastal contamination and, where temporal trends exist, show contamination to be de-
      creasing in many instances. This finding implies that some benefits have resulted form
      the management of chemical use and discharge. However, data for more years will be

                                                                                        43








       necessary to distinguish the effects of human activity from those of natural influences
       on some of these chemical concentrations.

Bayne, B.L. 1989. Measuring the biological effects of pollution: The Mussel Watch ap-
proach. Water Sci. Technol. 21(10-11): 1089-1100.

       ABSTRACT: The Mussel Watch approach to environmental monitoring is briefly de-
       scribed and the potentials for various biological measurements to complement the
       normal practice of chemical determinations are discussed. Some of the available
       "biological effects techniques" are illustrated by reference to a recent practical work-
       shop at which they were tested. Certain shortcomings in the approach are considered,
       but the conclusion reached that wider application of available biological techniques
       would benefit coastal environmental quality assessment.
       AN: The "biological effects techniques" includes biochemical and cellular responses
       such as a metal-binding protein index and lysosomal stability, and physiological
       responses such as the scope for growth index. With these measures, the Mussel
       Watch program can obtain information on the cellular and sub-cellular level and at the
       organismal level. The shortcoming is that Mussel Watch cannot provide information
       at the community level, which is the main focus of concern. Therefore, the Mussel
       Watch concept cannot, by itself, yield information convincing enough to support
       legislative action.

Lobel,-P.B.; Bajdik,-C.D.; Belkhode,-S.P.; Jackson,-S.E.; Longerich,-H.P. 1991. Improved
protocol for collecting Mussel Watch specimens taking into account sex, size, condition,
shell shape, and chronological age. Arch. Environ. Contamn. Toxicol. 21(3): 409-414.

       ABSTRACT: This study was done to determine the relative effects of five variables
       (sex, soft tissue dry weight, condition index, width:height ratio, chronological age) on
       the concentration of 24 elements in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and to develop an
       improved protocol for collecting mussels for biological monitoring programs. The five
       explanatory variables were treated as independent variables in multiple regression
       equation with the individual element concentrations being included as the dependent
       variable. A multivariate test was also performed. An initial test showed that chrono-
       logical age per se had no significant effect on the concentrations of any of the ele-
       ments; therefore, it was dropped from the equation. Condition index and soft tissue
       dry weight showed a high degree of negative association with element concentrations.
       This was explained as being due to growth rate differences (dilution effect). An
       improved condition index is suggested. Sex was also a major factor in determining
       element concentrations with the greatest effects being noted for manganese, copper,
       arsenic, and selenium (females greater than males).

4.2.2 Application of Mussel Watch

Risebrough, R.W.; Lappe, B.W. De; Walker, W.,II; Simoneit, B.T.; Grimalt, J.; Albaiges,
J.; Regueiro, J. 1983. Application of the Mussel Watch concept in studies of the distribution
of hydrocarbons in the coastal zone of the Ebro Delta. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 14(5): 181-187.

44








       ABSTRACT: The Mussel Watch concept was applied in a study of man-induced
       chemical changes in the Ebro Delta on the Catalonian coast to obtain a preliminary
       assessment of the distribution of synthetic organic compounds, petroleum and biogenic
       hydrocarbons in the local coastal zone. Mussels, oysters and clams were selected as
       the indicator organisms. Levels of petroleum accumulated by mussels were generally
       high. The relative distributions of the steranes and pentacyclic triterpanes in the
       mussels were significantly different from those found in petroleum from a local field,
       indicating that local petroleum was not contributing to the present contamination. The
       composition of biogenic compounds was variable, probably reflecting differences in
       the composition of local plankton communities, PCB levels were high in relation to
       current levels in mussels from US sites, reflecting continuing PCB use in Spain.

Tavares, T.M.; Rocha, V.C.; Porte, C.; Barcelo, D.; Albaiges, J. 1988. Application of the
mussel watch concept in studies of hydrocarbons, PCBs and DDT in the Brazilian Bay of
Todos os Santos (Bahia). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19(11): 575-578.

       ABSTRACT: Data on aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs, and DDT in
       different species of edible bivalves collected along the Todos os Santos Bay (Bahia,
       Brazil) are reported for the first time for the SW Atlantic coast. The species and
       collection sites were selected for the identification of suitable regional sentinels and
       the assessment of different coastal pollutant sources. Anomalocardia brasiliana, the
       dominant and most frequent bivalve of the Brazilian coast, can be an adequate
       bioindicator because it accumulates organic pollutants with reasonable sensitivity.

Martin, M.; Richardson, B.J. 1991. Long term contaminant biomonitoring. Mar. Pollut.
Bull. 22(11): 533-537.

       ABSTRACT: Heavy metals, halogenated hydrocarbons, and petroleum hydrocarbons
       in the world's marine and estuarine waters have long been recognized as some of the
       most potentially deleterious contaminants to biota, and to human consumers of
       seafoods. During the past two decades, various strategies have been developed to
       monitor and evaluate the adverse impacts of these compounds in marine waters: one
       of the most successful efforts has involved the use of bivalve shellfish as sentinel
       organisms, a technique which has become popularly known as the "Mussel Watch." It
       is the aim of this article to discuss the need for a more comprehensive contaminant
       biomonitoring programme in southeastern Australia, with special attention to the
       marine environment of the State of Victoria.

4.2.2 Parallel Research

Turgeon, Donna D.; Lauenstein, Gunnar G. 1991. Contaminants in mussel tissues from U.S.
coastal waters. pp 1842-1858 in: Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium
on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Findings are presented from analyses of mollusks collected from sites
       along the East and West Coasts of the United States, from 1986 through 1989, by the

                                                                                         45








       National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Status and
       Trends Program (NS&T). Contaminant levels in surface sediments and in the tissues
       of three species of mussels from 96 sites have been used as indicators of the status of
       coastal environmental quality. Generally, the greatest accumulations of organic
       contaminants are found in mussel tissues from urban areas. For instance, the highest
       levels of PAHs were found in samples from the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, NY, and
       Elliott Bay, WA. The highest levels of PCBs were found at Angelica Rock in
       Buzzards Bay, MA, followed by moderately high concentrations in the Hudson-
       Raritan Estuary, NY and NJ, and a second Buzzard's Bay site (Round Hill). Highest
       levels of DDT were found in mollusks from sites off Palos Verdes and San Pedro
       Harbor, CA. Uptake of metal contaminants by mollusks is variable among and within
       genera. Urban sites with high metal and organic contaminant concentrations in mussel
       tissues are shown to be associated by complete linkage cluster analyses. Comparisons
       between NS&T data (1986-88) and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
       Mussel Watch data (1975-78) indicate significant decadal differences: lead and
       cadmium in mussel tissues are lower while copper concentrations are higher.

Boudreau, Christine M.; Jenkins, Kenneth D.; Sanders, Brenda M. 1993. Bioaccumulation in
mussels caged in Alamitos Bay, California. pp 3355-3370 in: Coastal Zone '93: Proceedings
of the Eighth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil
Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Alamitos Bay is a coastal embayment located in the southern portion of
       the highly urbanized Los Angeles basin. There is concern of the potential for contami-
       nation stemming from urban non-point sources and point sources which discharge
       directly into the Bay and its tributaries. However, current conditions of the Bay are
       not well documented. To address this problem, we have used caged mussels to
       ascertain if bioconcentratable trace metals and hydrocarbons were prevalent in
       Alamitos Bay. We have also used stress proteins to evaluate the potential for sublethal
       stress. Mussels from a clean source were deployed at various stations in and around
       the Bay following the Department of Fish and Games' Mussel Sampling Procedures
       Protocol. After two months of exposure, the mussels were retrieved and analyzed for
       metal and hydrocarbon content and stress protein concentration. The results indicate a
       spatial trend of bioaccumulating contaminants. The bioaccumulation data will be
       compared between stations and with regional data from the California Mussel Watch
       Program and the National Status and Trends Program. Correlations between
       bioaccumulation and sublethal stress will also be discussed.










46








                                      5. Benthos


Many contaminants are adsorbed onto soil particles or other micro-solids in streams and the
water column, and eventually collect in estuarine sediments. This often results in a build-up
of contaminants to toxic levels. Therefore it is logical that a branch of research would focus
on detecting and analyzing the effects of contaminated sediments. It also follows that
researchers would look at the impact on organisms that either lie on or burrow through these
potentially contaminated sediments, thus adding to the field of potential bioindicators.


5.1 Indicator Organisms

Indicator organisms from the benthos include both benthic (those that live in or burrow
through the sediments) and demersal organisms (those that live on the surface of the
sediments). Reish (1986) summarizes the efficacy of using benthic invertebrates to determine
the degree of past, present, and even the potential for future environmental contamination.
Pocklington and Wells (1992) agree with this assessment; however, instead of using benthic
invertebrates in general, their review focused the efficacy of using polychaets as
bioindicators. In addition these more species specific papers, some authors focused on the
more general criteria for choosing an indicator. For example, Pearson et al. (1983) offered a
method to detect a species sensitive to pollution induced changes, and Ferraro and Cole
(1992) offered an example supporting "taxonomic sufficiency," the idea that species-level
indicators are not necessary if the same information can be obtained with less expensive
investigations at the higher taxonomic levels.

The next few papers show that while there is wide acceptance of the concept of using benthic
organisms as bioindicators, opinions as to which organism should be used vary greatly. For
example, Augenfeld (1980) focused on lugworms, Platt and Warwick (1980) favored
nematodes, and Breteler et al. (1989) and Thomas (1993) recommend using amphipods. In
addition to these studies on benthic invertebrates, there was also some relevant research on
demersal organisms, e.g., flatfish. Some of the earlier flatfish research did not always show
a strong correlation (Iwaoka et al. 1979), yet later studies (Stein et al. 1992) found them to
be quite useful and accurate indicators.

Many of these bioassays have a quantitative basis for determining the level of environmental
stress and might therefore be useful indicators for coastal zone managers. This type of
indicator also has a public interest component: diseased fish.









                                                                                          47








5.1.1 Efficacy, Reviews, and Evaluations

Reish, D.J. 1986. Benthic invertebrates as indicators of marine pollution: 35 Years of study.
pp. 885-888 in: Oceans '86 Conference record: Science Engineering Adventure. vol. 3.
Monitoring Strategies Symposium. Marine Technology Soc., Washington; IEEE, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Los Angeles-Long Beach harbors were grossly polluted waters at the
       time of initiation of benthic invertebrate studies in 1951. Waste discharges included
       industrial, domestic and storm waters which received little or no treatment. The inner
       harbor water mass contained little or no dissolved oxygen, but the outer harbor was
       well oxygenated. Benthic conditions were characterized by four different associations
       of animals plus an azoic zone. A pollution abatement program was initiated in 1968
       and has continued to this day. Waste discharges were either eliminated or diverted to
       treatment plants. The effects of this abatement program were noted shortly thereafter
       and had a dramatic effect on the benthic fauna. The azoic and polluted zones were
       repopulated and are now characterized by a rich, varied benthic fauna. Benthic
       species known only previously from offshore areas are now resident inhabitants of the
       outer harbor. The usefulness of benthic monitoring over the past 35 years has
       demonstrated the rapidity of the improvement of ecological conditions as a result of
       pollution abatement. Furthermore, the knowledge gained from 35 years of study has
       provided a valuable data base as future changes in the harbor are contemplated.
       AN: Reish discussed three lessons learned from these 35 years of benthic sampling.
       First is that macroinvertebrates are useful not only in indicating the degree on
       contamination at the time of sampling, but for past environmental conditions as well.
       Second, they can serve as indicators of change. Third, since benthic fauna are
       composed of all the different heterotrophic groups,herbivore, carnivore, detritivorean
       analysis of the trophic interactions yields a community based technique for monitor-
       ing.

Pocklington,-P.; Wells,-P.G. 1992. Polychaetes: Key taxa for marine environmental quality
monitoring. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 24(12): 593-598.

       ABSTRACT: Polychaetes are used: as bioassay organisms, as monitors for toxic
       materials, and as pollution indicators at the various levels. The literature clearly
       demonstrates that their use as indicators of marine environmental quality, together
       with better known methods employing other organisms and assemblages, is wide-
       spread on a global scale. It further shows the potential for greater use of polychaetes
       as biomonitors for compliance and marine environmental quality monitoring purposes,
       by regulatory and research groups.

Pearson, T.H.; Gray,-J.S.; Johannessen, P.J. 1983. Objective selection of sensitive species
indicative of pollution-induced change in benthic communities. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.
12(3): 237-255.

       ABSTRACT: An objective technique for identifying potential indicator species using
       analyses based on the distribution of individuals among species is presented. Benthic

48








       community data from 6 different areas in N.W. Europe are analyzed. In each case
       species indicative of environmental change in the area are identified, even from areas
       where such changes are small and have resulted only in minor perturbations in the
       local community structure. It is shown that particular species groups are characteristi-
       cally indicative of each area, and that ubiquitous indicator species common to many
       areas do not occur. The method is rapid and involves little computation; it is robust
       and can be used across a range of sample sizes; it is theoretically sound and allows
       the objective selection of species useful as indicators of pollutant effects.

Ferraro,-S.P.; Cole, F.A. 1992. Taxonomic level sufficient for assessing a moderate impact
on macrobenthic communities in Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.
49(6): 1184-1188.

       ABSTRACT: Macrobenthic data obtained using three sampling schemes (0.06-m
       super(2) x 8-cm-deep sampling unit and 1.0- or 0.5-mm-mesh sieves, and 0.1-m
       super(2) x 8-cm-deep sampling unit and 1.0-mm-mesh sieve) previously identified as
       optimal or near-optimal for detecting differences between a reference and a moder-
       ately impacted station when animals were identified to species were reanalyzed at the
       genus, family, order, and phylum level to determine the taxonomic level sufficient to
       detect differences between the stations with t-tests on five measures of community
       structure. Taxonomically sufficient levels for number of taxa were family in 1.0-mm-
       mesh samples and species in 0.5-mm-mesh samples. Specific identification was
       usually required for a Dominance, Shannon's, 1 - Simpson's, and McIntosh's Index in
       1.0- and 0.5-mm-mesh samples, suggesting limits to the utility of the taxonomic
       sufficiency concept when using those indices to detect moderate impacts. This and a
       previous study indicate that one could reliably ( alpha = 0.05, 1 - beta approximately
       equals 0.80) detect moderate benthic impacts at the study site on number of taxa and
       five other measures of community structure with five to seven replicate 0.06-m
       super(2) x 8-cm-deep, 1.0-mm-mesh samples per station and identification to family
       only. Taxonomic sufficiency can vary depending upon the animal size fraction
       sampled and the measure used.

5.1.2 Examples

Augenfeld, J. M. 1980. Effects of Prudhoe Bay Crude Oil Contamination on Sediment
Working Rates of Abarenicola pacifica. Marine Environmental Research 3(4): 307-313.

       ABSTRACT: The effect of sediment containing 250, 500, or 1,000 ppm Prudhoe Bay
       crude oil on the rate of feeding as measured by fecal production by lugworms
       (Abarenicola pacifica) was tested. Both lugworms and sediment were collected from
       the high intertidal region of an almost-enclosed lagoon adjacent to Sequim Bay,
      Washington. At oil concentrations of 500 and 1,000 ppm, the rate of feeding was
       reduced by 70%. Mean fecal production per unit body weight was moderately
       depressed in groups exposed to 250 ppm crude oil. Under normal conditions, smaller
       animals have higher rates of defecation than larger animals. The test results suggest
       that defecation rates may have potential application as an indicator of levels of

                                                                                         49








       environmental stress, and that under conditions of moderate pollution, lugworms may
       aid in recovery of intertidal zones by maintaining sediment transport through feeding
       activity. (Titus-FRC)

Platt, H.M.; Warwick, R.M. 1980. The significance of free-living nematodes to the littoral
ecosystem. pp. 729-760 in: The shore environment. Volume 2: Ecosystems. Price, J. H.;
Irvine, D.E.G.; Farnham, W.F.-eds.

       ABSTRACT: The role played by free-living marine nematodes in the littoral ecosys-
       tem is assessed. Since little is known of the nematodes of rocky shores, this assess-
       ment is based mainly on the results of investigations of particulate shores. Nematodes
       are considered to be the most ubiquitous, abundant and diverse marine metazoan
       group. They are of major energetic importance, form a significant part of the diet of
       many other animals, play vital roles in facilitating decomposition and in influencing
       the physical stability of beaches, and are potentially important indicators of environ-
       mental conditions. The authors conclude that any general assessment of intertidal
       habitats is incomplete if the nematode fauna is not taken into consideration.

Breteler, R.J.; Scott, K.J.; Shepherd, S.P. 1989. Application of a new sediment toxicity test
using the marine amphipod Ampelisca abdita to San Francisco Bay sediments. Aquatic
toxicology and hazard assessment 12: 304-314. Cowgill,-U.M.;Williams,-L.R.-eds.

       ABSTRACT: Sediment bioassays are becoming widely recognized as effective tools to
       determine the biological significance of the contamination found in coastal sediments.
       This paper describes the application of a new sediment toxicity test with Ampelisca
       abdita, a marine amphipod, to sediments from three stations at each of four sites in
       San Francisco Bay and one reference site in Tomales Bay. Results indicated that the
       range of mortality within each station was generally less than 10%. Statistical
       analyses indicated highly significant site differences for both mortality and emergence.
       San Pablo Bay and Tomales Bay sediments were, as expected, the least toxic, with
       mean ten-day mortalities of 8.7 and 11.0%, respectively. Yerba Buena and Vallejo
       sediments were slightly, but significantly, more toxic at 15.0 and 14.7%, respective-
       ly; and the Oakland Harbor sediments were the most toxic, with 25.7% mortality.

Thomas, J.D. 1993. Biological monitoring and tropical biodiversity in marine environments:
A critique with recommendations, and comments on the use of amphipods as bioindicators.
J. Nat. Hist. 27(4): 795-806.

       ABSTRACT: Preoccupations with regulatory and legal liability issues in marine
       environmental monitoring have led to programmes based on reductionist models that
       use nonbiological parameters which are indirect measures of biotic condition. The
       ability to assess the effectiveness of current monitoring programmes to protect the
       marine environment at regional and national scales does not currently exist. Current
       monitoring programs rarely serve the function for which they were intended: an
       accurate and sensitive source of information from which conditions and trends can be
       defined and recognized, and management decisions made. In addition, the natural








       variability of systems is problematic and must be documented in order to distinguish
       natural from anthropogenic changes in environmental conditions. Owing to their
       ecological importance, numerical abundance, and sensitivity to a variety of toxicants
       and pollutants, amphipod crustaceans have long been known as sensitive environmen-
       tal indicators. However, application and use of amphipods in such programs is limited
       to the few regions where ongoing comprehensive taxonomic and natural history
       investigations have been undertaken. Potential for amphipods as bioindicators exists in
       a wide variety of environments, especially in the tropics, but their incorporation into
       such programs is dependent upon completion of taxonomic surveys and inventories.

Iwaoka, W.T.; Landolt, M.L.; Pierson, K.B.; Felton, S.P.; Abolins, A. 1979. Studies on
aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, polycyclic hydrocarbon content, and epidermal tumors of
flatfish. pp. 85-93 in: Animals as monitors of environmental pollutants. Symposiun on
pathobiology of environmental pollutants: animal models and wildlife as monitors.

       ABSTRACT: A preliminary survey on histopathology, liver aromatic hydrocarbon
       content, and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase levels of flatfish from several selected sites
       in Puget Sound and Canadian waters was made to determine how well the flatfish
       qualifies as a wildlife monitor of pollution. No significant correlations were found,
       although certain GLC and other data indicate that further study is needed.

Stein, J.E.; Collier, T.K.; Reichert, W.L.; Casillas, E.; Hornm, T.; Varanasi, U. 1992.
Bioindicators of contaminant exposure and sublethal effects: Studies with benthic fish in
Puget Sound, Washington. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 11(5): 701-714.

       ABSTRACT: A suite of chemical and biochemical variables responsive to contami-
       nant exposure was measured in three species of benthic flatfish (English sole,
       Parophrys vetluls; rock sole, Lepidopsetta bilineata; and starry flounder, Platichthys
       stellatus) sampled from up to five sites in Puget Sound, Washington, to assess the
       sensitivity of the parameters to differences in levels of contaminant exposure. The
       results showed (a) that all the examined indexes could discriminate among sites
       exhibiting different degrees of chemical contamination, (b) that species differed in the
       range of response of most of the measured indexes, and (c) that the use of the indexes
       in concert appeared to enhance the assessment of contaminant exposure and sublethal
       effects.

       ANNOTATION: This was one of the few studies that coupled biochemical measure-
       ments and physiological indexes with chemical analyses in assessing the level of
       exposure of fish to chemical contamination. One benefit of this it that it allows
       enhances assessment of the impact of contaminants on exposed species.








5.2 Research Trends

Early benthic research first focused on chemical analyses of the sediments to determine the
amount or concentration of metals, hydrocarbons, etc. in the sediments. Standard methods
for chemical analyses have long been established; recent papers focus on minor improve-
ments. Readman et al. (1986) focused on ways to help make water quality sampling and
testing more efficient, and Stone et al. (1993) improved upon earlier sediment core research
by increasing the core depths from several feet to 15 to 20 feet, allowing a direct comparison
between the upper polluted sediments and lower clean sediments. However, most of the
research focused on bioindicators.

Bioindicator research tended to follow one of three different pathways. In the first pathway,
researchers looked at the environmental effects of pollutants on the benthic community (Read
et al. 1983 and Sandulli and De-Nicola-Giudici 1989). This type of research is also exempli-
fied by the National Status and Trends program's Benthic Surveillance Project. This is
similar to the National Status and Trend's Mussel Watch program but it looks at bottom-
dwelling fish and associated sediments rather than bivalves. Other differences are that it
studies less than half the number of sites, and that it was a much less popular research
subject. One of the few papers mentioning this project was Wolfe et al. (1993) who reviews
bioeffect surveys. This type of research is an important part of determining whether an
organism is suitable as an indicator, but has no direct effect for this project.

The second pathway is more useful in that compares existing indicators or identifies potential
new bioindicators. On the comparison side, Raffaelli (1982) compares six major mieofaunal
groups and Satsmadjis (1985) compared phytoplankton and macrozoobenthic organisms. The
"new" bioindicator research, although they have not gone through years of peer reviewed
scrutiny might nonetheless be useful as an environmental indicator. Collier et al. (1989)
identified an "early exposure" indicator of sediment contamination. This could be a major
improvement because most other indicators have a substantial temporal lag. Gastropod
imposex (imposition of male sexual characteristics on female marine snails) is also useful
because it offers an effective and inexpensive indicator of tributyltin contamination (Ellis and
Pattisina 1990, and Foale 1993). As discussed in the previous section, this type of research is
the most useful for developing useful indicators of environmental quality.

The third pathway critiques the efficacy of bioindicators and in some cases, offer an
alternative to improve the perceived shortcomings in the bioindicator model. Tietjen (1977)
concludes that nematodes are not useful bioindicators for either metal or organic carbon
deposits. Platt et al. (1984) find the models of a keystone species and multi-species indices
(i.e. diversity indices and the nematode-copepod ratio) unfeasible, unreliable or impractical.
In a contrasting view, Shiells and Anderson (1985) support the nematode/copepod ratio and
provide a practical application of its use. The abundance/biomass comparison method gave us
another quantitative measure for detecting pollution effects (Meire and Dereu 1990). These
newer models may provide a better quantitative measure, but they are not as widely accepted
as the simpler bioindicator and they may be harder for the public to understand.



52








5.2.1 Direct Measurements

Readman, J.W.; Preston, M.R.; Mantoura, R.F.C. 1986. An integrated technique to quantify
sewage, oil and PAH pollution in estuarine and coastal environments. Marine Pollution
Bulletin 17(7): 298-308.

       ABSTRACT: An analytical protocol is described which allows parallel quantification
       of sewage, oil and PAH pollution on the same sample, thus maximizing the informa-
       tion gained for the effort expended. Capillary gas chromatography-flame ionization
       detection (GC-FID), now a routine technique in many laboratories, has been selected
       as the method for quantification. The protocol described is evaluated, and analyses of
       sediments from estuaries of the Rivers Mersey, Dee and Tamar, UK, are given as
       examples of how to interpret results achieved using the technique.

Stone, Gregory W.; Watson, J.S.; Walker, J.T.; Morgan, J.P. 1993. Heavy metal accumula-
tion in subsurface, estuarine sediments and inferences for anthropogenic enrichment: N.W.
Florida coast. pp 899-914 in: Coastal Zone '93: Proceedings of the Eighth Symposium on
Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: In an attempt to quantify the degree of contamination and the thickness
       of the contaminated subsurface sedimentary wedge, approximately 100 samples were
       extracted from the cores and subjected to grain-size and heavy metal (Al, Fe, Cd, Cr,
       Cu, Co, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn) analyses. Detailed lithofacies descriptions in addition to the
       composition and texture of sediments in the cores permitted identification of Plio-
       Pleistocene and Holocene boundaries. Metal concentrations found in theses sediments
       were used as "background" trace metal levels in "natural" (uncontaminated) material
       where the subsurface remained undisturbed by human activity (dredging in, spoil
       deposition, etc.) Anthropogenically-induced, metal enrichment was clearly evident in
       the bayou, although the thickness of the contaminated wedge varied due to sedimenta-
       tion rates, flushing capacity, local geology of the watershed and the degree of
       industrialization or urbanization. The principal advantage of this approach over other
       (e.g. normalization), is that the "clean" Holocene sediment, which is primarily
       homogeneous, monomineralic (quartz sand) material, can be readily sampled progres-
       sively upcore resulting in the precise location of the contaminated sedimentary wedge.
       (Edited author abstract) Refs.

5.2.2 Effects on the Organism

Read, P.A.; Anderson, K.J.; Matthews, J.E.; Watson, P.G.; Halliday, M.C.; Shiells, G.M.
1983. Effects of pollution on the benthos of the Firth of Forth. Marine Pollution Bulletin
14(1): 12-16.

      ABSTRACT: A long-term benthic study has been undertaken in the Firth of Forth to
      assess the environmental impact of a new sewage treatment scheme for the city of
      Edinburgh. The sewage scheme reduced the suspended solids content of the liquid
      effluent by approximately 60% and achieves a lowering of the concentration of

                                                                                        53








       materials in solution through more efficient dilution and dispersion. Marked changes
       in the intertidal benthic flora and fauna have been recorded along the Edinburgh
       coastal zone. These changes have apparent as the decline and disappearance of
       populations of certain pollution indicator species and the appearance and establishment
       of several species previously unrecorded along the more polluted parts of the Edin-
       burgh shoreline.

Sandulli, R.; De-Nicola-Giudici, M. 1989. Effects of Organic Enrichment on Meiofauna: A
Laboratory Study. Marine Pollution Bulletin 20(5): 223-227.

       ABSTRACT: An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of different load-
       ings of organic enrichment on meiobenthos and, in particular, on its most abundant
       components, nematodes and harpacticoid copepods, to assess their potential as
       environmental quality indicators. An 84 day laboratory experiment indicates the
       decline of intertidal meiofauna abundance may be directly related to treatment level
       and time of exposure to sewage sludges. The observed changes revealed a marked
       decrease of nematodes and total disappearance of mesobenthic harpacticoids while the
       non-interstitial copepod species were little affected. Results support the use of the
       nematode/copepod ratio as an index of organic pollution, and its used could be
       enhanced by considering in the calculation only truly interstitial species, apparently
       the most sensitive to environmental stress, since differences in the habitat require-
       ments of nematodes and copepods may be essential to determine their response to
       organic enrichment.

Wolfe, D.A.; Long, E.R.; Roberston, A. 1993. NS&T intensive bioeffects surveys: design
strategies and preliminary results. pp 298-312 in: Coastal Zone '93: Proceedings of the
Eighth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers,
New York.

       ABSTRACT: Intensive bioeffects surveys are conducted in selected areas where
       chemical data from the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program indicate greatest
       potential for contaminant-related biological effects. The surveys examine biomarkers
       of contaminant effects in resident fish and mollusks to determine the occurrence and
       magnitude of bioeffects in the natural system. Sediment toxicity surveys provide finer
       resolution on the spatial distribution of potential contaminants effects than is possible
       from the responses in mobile feral organisms. Surveys have been conducted in San
       Francisco Bay, Hudson-Raritan Estuary, Tampa Bay Boston Harbor, and Long Island
       Sound. Within these regions, fish from areas with the greatest contaminant loadings
       frequently exhibit higher incidences of contaminant-related histopathologies, along
       with elevated incidences of DNA adducts. Sediment toxicity is usually estimated using
       three or more exposure modes and test endpoints to support intercomparison of test
       sensitivities and correlations with contaminant concentrations. Sediment toxicity,
       occurs in portions of all study areas to date, being generally higher in sediments
       collected near urban or industrial centers and diminishing away from those centers.
       This paper outlines the rationale and design for the surveys, and presents representa-
       tive results for Tampa Bay.

54








5.2.3 Comparing or Identifying Bioindicators

Raffaelli, D. 1982. An assessment of the potential of major meiofauna groups for monitoring
organic pollution. Mar. Environ. Res. 7(2): 151-164.

       ABSTRACT: The numbers of six meiofauna groups (nematodes, copepods,
       turbellarians, archiannelids, oligochaetes and gastrotrichs) were estimated from 17
       sandy beaches differing in their organic (sewage) pollution loadings. Nematodes were
       most abundant on polluted and fine sand beaches whilst copepods were more common
       on coarse sand and rare on polluted beaches. The ratio of nematodes to copepods may
       thus provide a useful index of beach quality. Archiannelids and oligochaetes seem
       restricted to particular habitat types and, with the turbellarians, have little potential
       for biomonitoring. Gastrotrichs occurred in large numbers on one polluted beach.

Satsmadjis, J. 1985. Comparison of Indicators of Pollution in the Mediterranean. Marine
Pollution Bulletin 16(10): 395-400.

       ABSTRACT: An attempt is made to evaluate different ways of estimating the extent
       of pollution in coastal areas, using data relating to Greece. The investigation reveals
       basic faults in the procedures. The concentrations of dissolved in organic nutrients do
       not necessarily reflect the amounts of domestic wastes discharged into the location.
       The levels in the sea or marine organisms of impurities from industrial effluents may
       alter greatly in the same region from one date or spot to another. The metal content
       of unsullied sediments depends on its granulometric composition. Phytoplankton
       density varies according to, not only the availability of nutrients, but also the season
       and the rate of grazing. On the contrary, macrozoobenthos, being much less influ-
       enced by transient changes in the environment, affords a reliable picture of its average
       state. This fact enables the development of a method for the assessment of the degree
       of pollution on the basis of the diversity and abundance of the biocenoses, as well as
       other factors.

Collier, T.K.; Eberhart, B. T.L.; Stein, J.E.; Varanasi, U. 1989. Aryl hydrocarbon
hydroxylase-a "new" monitoring tool in the Status Trends Program. pp. 608-610 in: Oceans
'89: The Global Ocean. Volume 2: Ocean Pollution.

       ABSTRACT: To better assess the effects of contaminant exposure on animals, it is
       desirable to identify and measure effects of contaminant exposure which occur
       relatively early after exposure and which occur in most, if not all, species of interest.
       Certain biochemical effects, such as increases in activities of mixed function oxidase
       (MFO) enzymes, fulfill these two conditions. The authors have been evaluating the
      use of the MFO system as an early effects measurement for the NBSP, specifically,
      measuring hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity towards a common
      anthropogenic contaminant, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Overall, results have shown that
      measurement of hepatic AHH activity is a highly responsive indicator of contaminant
      exposure in benthic fish, making this measure an effective tool for use in environmen-
      tal monitoring programs.

                                                                                         55








Ellis, D.V.; Pattisina, L.A. 1990. Widespread neogastropod imposex: A biological indicator
of global TBT contamination? Mar. Pollut. Bull. 21(5): 248-253.

       ABSTRACT: Imposex (male genitalia imposed on females) in shoreline whelks and
       other neogastropod molluscs is reported here from S.E. Asia (Singapore, Malaysia
       and Indonesia). In Singapore, imposex occurred at all sites where females were
       available. In remote Ambon Bay, Indonesia, imposex also occurred widely, and was
       particularly severe in two harbours for high seas and inter-island vessels. We con-
       clude that it is now global, not just regionally localized. From the association of
       neogastropod imposex with tributyltin (TBT) contamination derived from boat and
       ship anti-fouling paints, it follows that TBT contamination and its human consequenc-
       es should be considered a contemporary global threat. We present here an imposex
       survey protocol for neogastropod species in general.

Foale, S. 1993. An evaluation of the potential of gastropod imposex as a bioindicator of
tributyltin pollution in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 26(10): 546-552.

       ABSTRACT: Imposex, the imposition of male sexual characteristics on female marine
       snails, was used as an indicator of past and present exposure to tributyltin (TBT) in
       the abundant muricid whelk Thais orbita (Gmelin). Wild populations of Thais orbita
       were surveyed for frequency and intensity of imposex throughout Port Phillip Bay and
       at two sites on the adjacent oceanic coast. Imposex indices correlated strongly with
       proximity to marinas or harbours. Average TBT body burdens for each population
       were mostly below 10 ng/g Sn (as TBT, wet wt) and failed to correlate with imposex
       indices. Even the highest body burdens were indicative of low contemporary ambient
       TBT levels. Thais orbita females from a population with negligible levels of imposex
       were transplanted to two sites where the highest imposex indices were found.
       Transplants failed to develop a significantly higher frequency or intensity of imposex
       than controls after 11 weeks. These results confirm that, as with many other gastro-
       pod species, imposex in T. orbita is irreversible, and may be found in populations
       where TBT contamination is no longer present. Nevertheless, controlled transplanta-
       tion of T. orbita shows promise as a routine bioindicator of contemporary TBT
       contamination in southern Australia. Imposex in other gastropod species in Port
       Phillip Bay is described and discussed.

5.2.4 Critiques and Improvements

Tietjen, J.H. 1977. Population distribution and structure of the free-living nematodes of Long
Island Sound. Mar. Biol. 43(2): 123-136.

       ABSTRACT: The distribution and structure of nematode populations in 4 sedimentary
       environments (muds, muddy sands, fine sands and medium-coarse sands) in Long
       Island Sound were studied. Mean population densities were highest in muds and
       muddy sands. Cluster analysis suggested the presence of two basic faunistic units; a
       mud unit characterized by high species dominance, low species diversity and low
       species endemism, and a sand unit characterized by low species dominance, high

56








       species diversity and high species endemism. Species diversity in all habitats was a
       direct function of both species richness and equitability. Limited niche separation
       among deposit feeders, usually the dominant nematode trophic type in muddy
       sediments, is proposed as the cause for the high species dominance so often character-
       istic of shallow marine muds. The study afforded the opportunity to examine the
       quantitative and qualitative aspects of population structure in relation to environmental
       impact (as indicated by large differences in the heavy metal and organic carbon
       concentrations within each of the 4 sedimentary regimes). Within each sediment type
       no differences in population densities, species composition or species diversity of
       nematodes existed between heavily impacted and apparently non-impacted sediments,
       or between Long Island Sound and similar coastal regions. These findings cast doubt
       on (1) the use of heavy metal and organic carbon concentrations as indicators of
       environmental stress for marine nematodes; (2) the use of diversity indices alone as
       indicators of environmental deterioration; and (3) the usefulness of field monitoring
       studies alone for the assessment of pollution impact on marine nematodes.

Platt, H.M.; Shaw, K.M.; Lambshead, P.J.D. 1984. Nematode species abundance patterns
and their use in the detection of environmental perturbations. Biology of Meiofauna (C.
Heip, ed.) 118(1): 59-66.

       ABSTRACT: If the concepts of biological indices and biomonitoring at the multi-
       species level are to prove viable, then meiofauna and marine nematodes in particular
       should be an ideal group with which to test the hypothesis. Many attempts to assess
       the structure of species assemblages, such as the use of diversity indices, nematode:
       copepod ratio and the graphical method of log normal plots, have been shown to be
       theoretically unsound and/or impractical, especially for routine use by extension
       workers. A method of assessing shifts in dominance patterns which involves all the
       proportional species abundances is suggested as a better means of comparing diversi-
       ty. A modified method of rapidly assessing Simpson's dominance-weighted diversity
       index is also advocated as being of practical use. In combination, they should enable
       the diversity aspect of the multi-species approach to biomonitoring to be rigorously
       and exhaustively evaluated.

Shiells, G.M.; Anderson, K.J. 1985. Pollution monitoring using the nematode/copepod ratio.
A practical application. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 16(2): 62-68.

       ABSTRACT: The practical application of the nematode/copepod ratio in a pollution
       monitoring study in the Firth of Forth was investigated. Ratios from polluted sites
       were much higher than from a clean site, but there is considerable evidence which
       casts doubt on the credibility of the ratio as a tool to detect organic pollution.
       Nematodes and copepods exhibited differing degrees of contagion. Seasonal patterns
       of variation of the ratio were shown to vary geographically and at some sites the
       seasonal range was great. Along sewage pollution gradients in time and space the
       ratio was shown to vary in an inconsistent manner. A possible improvement to the
       ratio whereby only interstitial forms are included is suggested.


                                                                                          57








Meire, P.M.; Dereu, J. 1990. Use of the abundance/biomass comparison method for
detecting environmental stress: Some considerations based on intertidal macrozoobenthos and
bird communities. J. Appl. Ecol. 27(1): 210-223.

       ABSTRACT: The abmundance/biomass comparison (ABC) method for detecting
       pollution effects was applied to data for macrozoobenthos taken from two intertidal
       areas: one virtually unpolluted (the Oosterschelde, Netherlands in 1981-84) and the
       other very polluted (the Westerschelde, Belgium in 1987). Studies of
       macrozoobenthos from several study plots in the Oosterschelde indicated some
       environmental stress, related to a long tidal exposure time of the plot or to human
       disturbance (mussel fishing). In the Westerschelde, the ABC method indicated an
       unstressed (unpolluted) situation in one and a moderately stressed (polluted) situation
       in two study plots. Applying the method to data for waders taken from the same study
       plots in the Oosterschelde revealed stress only in the plots with the shortest exposure
       time and the lowest available invertebrate biomass. It is argued that it is difficult to
       use this method in estuarine areas as an indicator of pollution because of the environ-
       mental stress typical for these areas. However, in general, it may be used to detect
       environmental stress.





























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      6.0 Indicators from the Coastal Zone Management
                                      Literature


The papers cited are grouped into the following headings: Coastal Zone Management
Reviews, Buffer Zones, Public Access, Coastal Hazards, and Marine Debris. Suggestions on
how to make research more useful to developing indicators are also discussed in each group.


6.1 Coastal Zone Management Reviews

A number of articles attempt to evaluate the Coastal Zone Management Act as well as
specific state coastal zone management programs. However, these articles were generally
limited to programmatic descriptions or critiques, and to prescribing concepts such as better
agency cooperation and more effective regulations. A few mentioned concepts that could lead
to the development of indicators (Englander 1977, Archer 1985 and Wilson 1985), but for
the most part, these types of papers addressed program assessment such as the consistency of
state CZM programs with national goals. There appears to have been little growth in
developing quantitative indicators. Many of the same problems and needs addressed in
Englander (1977) were reiterated eight years later by Wilson (1985).

Although these reviews have correctly highlighted the need for measurable evaluative
criteria, very few exist. Moreover, existing measurable criteria only have limited utility. For
example, the two best CZM evaluations found in this literature search were simple site
specific evaluations using water and sediment quality data (Paulson 1989 and Guillen 1993).
A less quantitative but still potentially useful approach is offered by (Born and Miller 1988).
Here they assess CZM programs by asking specific evaluative questions.

Englander, Ernie, Jim Feldman, and Mark Hershman. 1977. Coastal zone problems: a basis
for evaluation. Coastal Zone Management Journal 3(3): 217-235.

      ABSTRACT: An important but difficult step in evaluating coastal programs is the
      formulation of meaningful and measurable criteria for purposes of evaluation. One
      useful source for deriving evaluation criteria consists of coastal problem statements.
      This article summarizes perceived coastal zone problems identified prior to the
      passage of the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act and discusses how this informa-
      tion could be used in formulating criteria for evaluating coastal problems.
      AN: The authors divided problems into two distinct groups: (1) Resource outcome
      problems are dissatisfactions with the state of the natural resource; (2) Organizational
      process problems are the characteristics or procedures that inhibit an organization
      from attaining its goals and objectives. The predominant resource outcome problems
      were (i) intense-use conflicts among competing uses, (ii) extensive environmental
      pollution, (iii) and destruction of coastal habitat and degradation of fish and wildlife
      resources. The predominant organizational process problems were (i) lack of coordi-
      nation among public agencies, (ii) insufficient planning authority, (iii) insufficient data

                                                                                        59








       base and lack of information for decision making, (iv) little understanding or knowl-
       edge about coastal ecosystems, and (v) resource decisions made primarily on the basis
       of economic considerations to the exclusion of ecological considerations.

Archer, J.H. 1985. The concept of coastal zone management. Proceedings of the Int.
Symposium on Utilization of Coastal Ecosystems: Planning, Pollution, and Productivity.
(Labish-Chao, N.; Kirby-Smith, W. eds.) 1: 27-38.

       ABSTRACT: Competing pressures on the coastline of the United States led to the
       passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. The act recognized the roles
       of local, state and federal government by establishing a partnership process for
       managing coastal resources. The federal role was designed to provide a degree of
       continuity and to assure that all states receiving federal financial assistance were
       complying with the basic objectives established in the Act. After ten years of experi-
       ence, federal financial assistance is phasing down. The future success of the state
       coastal zone management programs will depend in great part on the degree of
       achievement realized to date. Achievements have been made in the following areas:
       (1) permit simplification and streamlining; (2) development of ports and waterfronts;
       (3) prevention of loss of life and property due to improper development in coastal
       hazard areas; and (4) protecting natural resources.

Wilson, Katharine A. 1985. Improved evaluation of the federal CZM program. Coastal Zone
'85: Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of
Civil Engineers, New York..

       ABSTRACT: The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972 created a federal
       coastal zone management program by providing funds to states to voluntarily develop
       and. implement plans for the management and protection of their coastal resources.
       This approach, unique among natural resource laws, makes the outcome of the
       CZMA's implementation of particular interest to policy-makers. this paper reviews
       past evaluations of the Federal Coastal Zone Program and outlines the obstacles which
       have thwarted more meaningful and objective evaluation of this program. It further
       reviews a case study national program evaluation which utilizes explicit, relatively
       objective evaluative criteria and illustrates some of the barriers encountered in
       conducting national program evaluation. Recommendations derived from the literature
       review and case study for improving future evaluation of the federal coastal zone
       management program are presented.

Paulson, Anthony J.; Hubbard, Thomas P.; Curl, Herbert C Jr.; Feely, Richard A.; Sample,
Timothy E.; Swartz, Robert G. 1989. Decreased fluxes of Pb, Cu and Zn from Elliott bay.
pp 3916-3930 in: Coastal Zone '89: Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on Coastal and
Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Fluxes of dissolved Pb, Cu and Zn to Elliott Bay, Washington from
       industrial sources were calculated from metal-salinity plots and freshwater discharge
       rates. The changes in these calculated fluxes were used to evaluate the effectiveness

60








       of pollution abatement programs. Between 1981 and 1985, initial pollution abatement
       actions were directed at many commercial and industrial dischargers along the
       Duwamish Waterway and on Harbor Island including a secondary lead smelter site
       and shipbuilding facilities. Subsequently, the dissolved Pb flux to Elliott Bay from
       industrial sources decreased by a hundred-fold, the industrial flux of dissolved Cu
       decreased by a factor of 5, and the industrial flux of dissolved Zn remained un-
       changed. The closure of one shipyard, reduced activity at another and better manage-
       ment practices decreased the industrial fluxes of dissolved Cu and Zn to Elliott Bay in
       1986 by 75% and 90%, respectively. (Author abstract) 20 Refs.

Guillen, George. 1993. Evaluation of dissolved oxygen and nutrient trends in the Houston
ship channel from historical statewide monitoring data. pp 518-527 in: Coastal Zone '93:
Proceedings of the Eighth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society
of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Dissolved oxygen and selected nutrient trends in the Houston Ship
       Channels (Texas Water Commission (TWC) segments 1007, 1006 and 1005) during
       the period of 1969 through 1990 were evaluated using non-parametric time series
       analysis. Surface and/or bottom concentrations of dissolved oxygen, ammonia
       nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate, and total phosphorus from selected stations
       were evaluated. These data indicate that dissolved oxygen levels have increased in the
       Houston Ship Channel over the last 20 years when adjusted for seasonal variation.
       During this period of time point source wastewater loading (Ib/d BOD) from domestic
       and industrial sources has decreased. Resulting decreases in phosphorus compounds
       and ammonia nitrogen, and increases in nitrates as a result of enhanced nitrification,
       have also occurred. Increased aquatic life use in the HSC has been documented by
       other TWC studies as a result of these increasing trends of dissolved oxygen. It is
       highly probable that the increased dissolved oxygen levels observed in the HSC are
       due to increased regulation and enforcement by state and federal agencies, increased
       facility compliance, and subsequent decreases in wastewater effluent loading and
       bypasses. These results illustrate the importance and application of a well designed
       monitoring program for the purposes of tracking the effectiveness of water quality
       management. (Author abstract)

Born, S.M.; Miller, A.H. 1988. Assessing networked coastal zone management programs.
Coastal Management 16(3): 229-243.

       ABSTRACT: During the early development of the national coastal zone management
      program there was no federal prescription with regard to how coastal states should
       proceed in establishing their programs institutionally. An approach that relied on
       existing agencies and authorities and improved policy development and coordination;
      was described as "networking." Many coastal advocacy groups, academics, and
       bureaucrats viewed the networked model with skepticism. With more than a decade of
       experience, the authors review and critique the efficacy of this approach to coastal
       management. Lessons learned from experimentation with networked coastal manage-


                                                                                         61








       ment programs may provide important lessons for other regional land and water
       resources management efforts.

       ANNOTATION: The paper poses three questions that would aid in the evaluation of
       CZM programs: [1] Did the coastal program precipitate institutional change? (policy,
       organization, budget and or process); [2] Did the coastal program precipitate changes
       inland and water uses? (patterns of use and or resource protection); and [3] Did the
       coastal program satisfy its constituents?


6.2 Buffer Zones

Buffer zones include buffer zones for construction setbacks, wetlands, and water quality.
Presently, the most useful indicator concerns construction setbacks. For example, Stutts
(1985) was able to measure a building owner's degree of safety by comparing the building's
landward distance to the estimated erosion rate. Other work confirms the need for site
specific geologic testing (McCarthy and Tobin, 1985) and reviews and highlights the
desirable features of individual state setback programs, noting in one of three desirable
features that setback programs need to understandable to the public (Houlahan, 1989).

Work on habitat and water quality buffer zones have also had detailed research. For
example, Diamond (1988) offers a method for determining wetland buffer width that takes
into account a variety of factors, and Phillips (1989) evaluates the factors determining the
effectiveness of water quality buffer zones to determine the relative influence of soil
properties, geomorphology, and surface conditions.

Buffer zones could be a useful indicator of environmental quality in that if they are properly
followed, they can ameliorate potential anthropogenic affects, but what is the useful measure-
ment? While the buffer zone research presented in this literature review is important, it is
more process rather than outcome oriented and therefore is not as useful when trying to
develop measurable indicators of environmental quality.4

Stutts, Alan T., Chrystos D. Siderelis, and Spencer M. Rogers, Jr. 1985. Effect of ocean
setback standards on the location of permanent structures. p 2459 in: Coastal Zone '85:
Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of
Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: A measure of the degree of safety from long-term erosion can be esti-
       mated by comparing the actual distance an owner chooses to locate landward of the
       required setback with the estimated erosion rate. This analysis describes where


    4 The use of buffer zones as an indicator of coastal zone quality is problematic. The basic
goal of both the federal Coastal Zone Management Act and Washington's Shoreline Manage-
ment Act is to foster appropriate development and human activities in the coastal zone.
Buffers have a role to play under specific circumstances.

62








       permanent structures were located in relation to the setback requirements during 1979-
       1981. The study concludes that as expected the ocean setback line undoubtedly
       required some buildings to be sited farther from the ocean than would have been the
       case without the regulation. However, an undesirable effect of the setback regulation
       is to encourage an owner to locate at the minimum required distance even when safer,
       more landward locations are available on the lot.

McCarthy, Richard J. and L. Thomas Tobin. 1985. Blufftop Setbacks-A Regulatory Impossi-
bility? p 1600 in: Coastal Zone '85: Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean
Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: The California Coastal Act requires that new development must
       minimize risks to life and property, assure geologic stability and structural integrity,
       not contribute significantly to erosion, or require the construction of a protective
       device during the design life of the structure. This regulatory concept is innovative
       but highly controversial and difficult to enforce with consistency. Coastal blufftop
       erosion rates vary greatly along California's 1075 miles of coastline. Therefore, a
       uniform state-wide coastal blufftop setback distance is impractical, especially when the
       decision to grant a development permit may be based solely on whether or not the
       structure will require a coastal protective device at any time during its proposed
       design life. Because of this, the California Coastal Commission requires a
       geotechnical study be done for any structure located within the "area of demonstra-
       tion," the description of which is set forth in the 'Statewide Interpretive Guidelines."

Houlahan, J.M. 1989. Comparison of state construction setbacks to manage development in
coastal hazard areas. Coastal Management 17(3): 219-228.

       ABSTRACT: The different types of state setback programs enacted to protect
       property and lives from coastal erosion hazards are described. Eleven states currently
       use construction setbacks. Annual long-term average recession rates are the basis for
       the majority of state setbacks. Existing state setback programs are compared and their
       strengths and weaknesses discussed. Three desirable features of existing state setback
       programs are examined: (1) designate "low" and "high" hazard areas, (2) consider
       structure size in determining the setback distance, and (3) make the setback program
       understandable to the public.

Diamond, R.S.; Nilson, D.J. 1988. Buffer delineation method for coastal wetlands in New
Jersey. pp. 771-784 in: Proceedings of the Symposium on Coastal Water Resources (Lyke,
W.L.; Hoban, T.J. eds.).

       ABSTRACT: The buffer delineation method described in this paper has been devel-
       oped for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to be used to
       determine appropriate buffer widths for both tidal and non-tidal wetlands. The method
       addresses potential impacts that results from land was of varying intensity, and the
       water quality renovation capability of buffers. Water quality renovation capability was
       determined based on a combined evaluation of buffer slope, vegetation, and soil

                                                                                          63








       characteristics. Impacts of residential, commercial, and industrial development were
       studied at low, moderate, and high intensities (based on percent impervious surface).

Phillips, J.D. 1989. An evaluation of the factors determining the effectiveness of water
quality buffer zones. Journal of Hydrology 107(1-4): 133-145.

       ABSTRACT: This study examines the relative role of slope length, slope gradient,
       surface roughness, and soil hydrologic properties in determining the pollution control
       effectiveness of vegetated buffer zones. Two models describing buffer conveyance
       capacity are introduced. The hydraulic and detention models, respectively, are applied
       to the problem of estuarine shoreline buffer zone delineation in Carteret County,
       North Carolina. Results show that where solid-phase pollutants transported as
       suspended or bedload in overland flow are the major concern, slope gradient is the
       most critical factor, followed by soil hydraulic conductivity. Where dissolved
       pollutants that are transported by both surface and subsurface flow are of concern,
       buffer width is by far the most important factor, with soil moisture storage capacity
       also playing a role. Methods developed here may be applied to any water quality
       buffer delineation problem to determine the relative influence of soil properties,
       geomorphology, and surface conditions.


6.3 Public Access

Public access is a well researched topic in the coastal zone management literature. However,
most of the work evaluates or describes the legal basis for public access and is not directly
applicable the development of coastal quality indicators.

Scott (1987), however, discusses Washington state's 'supply' of public access in terms of
sites on a per capita basis, and site usage-two quantitative measures of public access.
Kominsky (1985) and Wakeman (1991) describe programs to improve public access but only
in terms of a net increase. While there may have been a net increase in the number of access
points, there is no measure of the per capita effect. Because many coastal populations are
increasing, the number of public access sties per capita could be decreasing.

Scott, James W. 1987. Washington state public access program: Finding solutions to the
shortcomings. pp 4338-4343 in: Coastal Zone '87, Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on
Coastal & Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the problems of providing adequate public access
       and focuses on many of the solutions which have been found and implemented in
       Washington State. In 1983, the Shorelands program of the Department of Ecology
       evaluated 12 years experience under State Shoreline and Federal Coastal Zone
       management. It was determined that despite legislative priorities shoreline public
       access had only modestly increased. Almost all the measurable increases were from
       outright acquisition and development of sites by public agencies, not from condition-


64








       ing shoreline development permits. As a result of the evaluation study, the Depart-
       ment of Ecology placed emphasis on public access. (Edited author abstract)
       AN: The author describes two deficiencies in public access to the shoreline. One is
       that there is an inadequate number of sites to meet demand and that the sites are
       unevenly distributed. The second is that the public in many instances does not know
       about and can not find many existing public access sites.

Kominsky, Karen J. 1985. Improving public access to the New Jersey shoreline. p 1729 in:
Coastal Zone '85: Proceedings of the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management.
American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: The New Jersey Coast is a magnificent natural resource. Its 126 miles
       of ocean beaches provide enjoyable recreational opportunities for residents of and
       visitors to the state. The state's second largest industry, tourism, is dependent on the
       use of coastal beaches. In 1982, tourism in the Atlantic coastal area produced $4.9
       billion in revenues in addition to having generated a large number of jobs. (DEP,
       1983). However, not all beaches are open to the public. The New Jersey shoreline is
       characterized by differing degrees of development and ownership. These -differing
       conditions create a major issue for those who live, work and visit the coast: the
       availability of public access. This issue has become increasingly important in the past
       three decades as highway construction, improved transportation and increased
       affluence have made it easier for people to go to the beaches. Also, undeveloped
       oceanfront land has become increasingly scarce, elevating coastal land values.

Wakeman, N. 1991. Providing access for the public to the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.
Marine Pollution Bulletin 23: 637-638.

       ABSTRACT: This paper will discuss how the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
       Development Commission has responded to the public need to get to the shoreline and
       view the water as part of its regulatory program for the San Francisco Bay Area. The
       Commission's authority will be discussed as well as the way the Commission uses its
       Design Review Board and design. guidelines to assure that public access areas are well
       designed and integrated into project development.


6.4 Coastal Hazards

Coastal hazards includes coastal flooding, coastal erosion, and sea level rise. The papers on
flooding and sea level rise were solely descriptive or programmatic, and therefore were not
useful to this project. The erosion literature too is largely descriptive. Terich and Gabriel
(1987) report that long term erosion on the Washington coast had no apparent effect on land
sale values. Ives and Furuseth (1988) found that residents of the North Carolina coast
regarded erosion as a natural process and a risk to be accepted. Kucma-Kenney and
Nordstrom (1985) report that while coastal erosion is a serious problem on most of the
United States coast, the public is disinterested -unless they are directly affected. Griggs (1987)


                                                                                          65








reports that about 86 percent of California's coast is eroding and that ten percent has been
armored.

Erosion is a natural process. It becomes a problem when it affects the value or use of
property. When the problem becomes noticeable to the property owner, a common response
is to construct a concrete bulkhead or rock wall, which has its own negative effects on
coastal zone quality (Shipman and Canning, 1993).

Shoreline armoring as a response to erosion has the potential of being an indicator, but the
literature is still too descriptive. To be a useful indicator of shoreline quality, researchers
need to develop a quantifiable measure which includes all responses such as setbacks as well
as the types and amounts of armoring.

Terich, Thomas A.; Gabriel, Anthony D. 1987. Effect of erosion upon coastal property
values. pp 2391-2401 in: Coastal Zone '87, Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Coastal
and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: The effect of long-term severe erosion upon coastal property values is
       tested at a site along the Pacific Coast of Washington State. Statistical analysis of
       mean sales values suggests the erosion has had little impact on land values. This
       conclusion must remain tenuous because of the nature of the site. The problems and
       issues of studying the economic impacts of coastal erosion are presented. (Author
       abstract)

       ANNOTATION: The potential of insurance may be a factor in erosion's effect on
       property values. The author found the assessor's lowering of property value for the
       purpose of tax assessment had a greater effect than erosion.

Ives, S.M.; Furuseth, O.J. 1988. Community response to coastal erosion: The view from
two North Carolina beach areas. Ocean and Shoreline Management 11(3): 177-193.

       ANNOTATION: Research on response to coastal erosion suggest that residents of
       both communities are aware of the hazard, and view it as a natural process with
       which they must cope. They recognize that erosion risk is increased by human action,
       and hence are strongly in support of non-structural approaches at the local level.
       Residents also indicate strong support for post-disaster assistance from federal and
       state governments, moderate support for structural techniques, but relatively weak
       support for subsidized hazard insurance.

Kucma-Kenny, Gall A. and Karl F. Nordstrom. Communication of coastal erosion informa-
tion to shorefront residents: the user perspective. p 327 in: Coastal Zone '85: Proceedings of
the symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers,
New York.

       ANNOTATION: According to managers and policy makers, coastal erosion problems
       are reaching critical proportions along much of the US Shorefront. These researchers

66








                found that the public is not very interested in the problem unless they are being
                impacted.

         Griggs, Gary B. 1987. California's retreating shoreline: The state of the problem. pp 1370-
         1383 in: Coastal Zone '87, Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean
         Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

                ABSTRACT: Approximately 86 percent of California's 1715- km of shoreline is
                eroding. Nearly ten percent of this oceanfront has now been armored. With present
                day costs of shoreline protection varying from $1500 to $10,000/meter of oceanfront,
                the costs of protecting the 170 Ian of developed coastline still threatened by erosion
                amounts to $255 million to $1. 7 billion. Development of three types of coastal
                geomorphic environments, the beach itself, eroding cliffs or bluffs, and active sand
                dunes, has led to the problems and storm damage witnessed in recent years. Careful
                investigation of the recent geologic history of oceanfront sites prior to development is
                relatively straightforward and inexpensive, and is necessary to clearly evaluate the
                risks and expected erosion at any particular location. Once construction in a hazard-
I           ~       ~~~ous environment has taken place, the options available are severely reduced with
                expensive but somewhat temporary protective structures being the most common
                solution. (Author abstract) 7 refs.

         Shipman, Hugh; Canning, Douglas, J. 1993. Cumulative environmental impacts of shoreline
         stabilization in Puget Sound. pp 2233-2242 in: Coastal Zone '93 Coastal Zone: Proceedings
         of the Eighth Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil
         Engineers, New York.

                ABSTRACT: Although shore protection structures such as bulkheads and seawalls
                may provide protection to upland property owners, they bring with them numerous
                potential adverse environmental effects. As sections of Puget Sound's shoreline
                become increasingly armored, the cumulative impact of these environmental effects
                becomes a serious concern. The authors discuss a number of potential environmental
                problems that may result from shoreline armoring.


         6.5 Marine Debris

         Marine debris could be good indicator because it directly affects coastal scenic value and can
        also harm organisms through entanglement or ingestion. Articles in this field commonly
         describe the problem of marine debris and show how clean up events have an impact on
        public awareness and education (Kauffman and Brown, 1991). However, some have quanti-
        fied the types and amounts of debris obtained. This is a good start, and comparisons can be
        used to evaluate some programs like the international ban on ocean dumping of plastics
         (O'Hara 1991). However, because different degrees of effort (e.g., the number of person-
        hours or the area of beach cleaned) can alter the amount of debris collected, simple volume
        measurements are not useful as an indicator environmental quality. Lindstedt (1989), by


                                                                                                  67







adding the simple component of area, turns interesting information into a useful measurable
indicator. The density of debris, e.g., items per 100 ml is a measurement that can be tracked
to show improvement and to compare with measurements at other locations or areas.

One neglected aspect of marine debris is the amount of material submerged. Perhaps since it
isn't such a visible project, it doesn't have a large constituency group. However, its potential
impact on fish warrant its study as an indicator of environmental quality (Simmons 1993).

Kauffmnan, Jill; Brown, Maria. 1991. California Marine Debris action plan. pp 3390-3406 in:
Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Manage-
ment. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: Trash in the oceans and on California's beaches are killing marine
       wildlife and fouling our beaches. To address this problem in California, the Center
       for Marine Conservation convened a statewide Marine Debris Steering Committee, in
       August 1989, comprised of representatives of federal, state, and local government',
       industry, science, education and conservation organizations. The* Steering Committee
       evaluated the marine debris problem in California and developed 22 recommendationsI
       to reduce debris in the marine environment. The results were published in a report,
       the California Marine Debris Action Plan. During the 1989 California Coastal
       Cleanup, volunteers recorded the types and amounts of trash they collected from the
       beach. The information was analyzed by the Center for Marine Conservation and
       indicated that 54.75 percent of the debris collected was plastic with the biggest threat
       to California's marine environment from land-based sources. California also had the
       most entangled and dead wildlife of any Cleanup state in the nation. The cost to
       maintain clean beach areas are great. The cities of Santa Monica and Long Beach4
       each spent more than $1 million in 1988-9 to clean their beaches and costs continue to
       rise. In recommendations put forth in the Action Plan, the Steering Committee
       identified the need to education the public about the harm of marine debris, proper
       disposal, and existing litter and dumping laws as a priority to effectively address the
       problem. Education must be conducted in conjunction with proper enforcement of the
       laws, continued research, and progressive waste management legislation. (Author
       abstract) 10 Refs.

O'Hara, Kathryn J. 1991. Cleaning north America's beaches. Volunteers across America
monitor the quality of our coasts. pp 2157-2167 in: Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the
Seventh Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engi-
neers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: The Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) has established a National
       Marine Debris Database to involve citizens in the collection of standardized informa-
       tion on marine debris. A comparison of data from the 1988 and 1989 national beach
       cleanups showed that the composition of trash found on America's beaches has
       remained relatively unchanged despite the enactment of an international ban an ocean
       dumping of plastics. Plastics still account for most of the trash or approximately 63%.
       In'1989, approximately 60% of all debris was packaging and disposable plastic

68.








       products. Debris from ocean sources was found to be most prevalent in states
       bordering the Gulf of Mexico and North Pacific. More than 70 items reported were
       traceable to specific cruise line companies. Inadequate sewer systems, a land-based
       source of debris, are of particular concern in northeast coastal states and the Great
       Lakes. Volunteers also reported 65 cases of wildlife entanglement or ingestion of
       debris, most of which were birds entangled in plastic fishing line. (Author abstract)

Lindstedt, Dianne M.; Holmes, Joseph C. Jr. 1989. Debris is not a cheese: Litter in coastal
Louisiana. pp 1297-1310 in: Coastal Zone '89: Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on
Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York

       ABSTRACT: An 18-month study of six Louisiana beaches determined the extent,
       composition, and possible sources of beach litter. Data showed that from 2590 to
       23,154 items may be encountered along any one-mile stretch of Louisiana beach,
       depending upon location and season, and that densities of litter ranged from 5 to 28
       items per 100 m2. Plastics constituted 47% of the total, followed by polystyrene at
       16% and glass at 10%. Drink-related items accounted for 40% of the identifiable
       material; operational wastes, 21%; galley wastes, 15%; personal items, 11%; and
       fishing items, 6%. Litter laws already exist at state and federal levels. Strict enforce-
       ment of Annex V of MARPOL should significantly reduce plastic beach litter.
       Solutions to beach litter will come from public participation in adopt-a-beach pro-
       grams and statewide clean-ups and from educational programs focusing on existing
       laws, proper disposal methods, recycling, and the threat litter poses to wildlife and
       public health. (Author abstract) 20 Refs.

Simmons, S.L.; Fricker, A.; Williams, A.T. 1993. Offshore/marine litter in Swansea bay,
wales, UK. pp 2283-2296 in: Coastal Zone '93: Proceedings of the Eighth Symposium on
Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York

       ABSTRACT: Offshore litter can originate from various sources; with land based (i.e.,
       rivers and beaches), sewage disposal sites and sea dumping being the main source
       areas. Much work has been carried out on beach/riverine litter, but the problem of
       submerged marine litter has not been recognized and will worsen with time. White
       Oyster Ledge is an underwater reef located in 20 m of water some 4 km offshore in
       swansea Bay, UK. Litter entangled in 30 gill nets sited on this ledge was collected
       and quantified by number and weight(total number 3670, total weight 6367 g.).
       Sewage derived materials i.e., sanitary towels (by far the largest category), condoms,
      plastics and nappies accounted for 24% of the total number and 7% of total litter
       weight. The sanitary towels were subdivided into, panty liners 146, absorbent materi-
      als 21, mini-pads 188, press on towels 361 and unidentified 155. The Swansea
      conurbation greater than 200,000 people) theoretically is capable of flushing some
       8000 towels daily into the sewage system . Of the general litter category, trawl
      netting, string/rope, paper, tyres etc accounted for less than 2% of the total numbers
      found, but 35% of the weight. Other major contributors were food wrappers together
      with clear/coloured plastics derived from beach and land sources. With respect to
      numbers and weights of total litter found, food wrappers and carrier bags comprised

                                                                                         69








       8% and 9%; clear plastics 34% and 27%; coloured plastics 32% and 22% respective-
       ly. Litter in this sink area has an economical cost on commercial fishing as well as
       posing an ecological threat.


6.6 Public Participation

Public participation is an important secondary goal of the Coastal Zone Management Act.
That is, it is identified as a desirable means of achieving the primary goals of the Act.

The CZMA reauthorization of 1990 required the states to assess the adequacy of their CZM
Program, and to include public consultation and participation in the assessment and improve-
ment strategy process. Unfortunately, no compilation or comparison of the public opinion
survey processes and results has been completed.

Most of the literature that touches on public participation is descriptive. Swaminathan (1993)
touches on the importance of using the public's perception when devising management plans.
There is an abundance of papers addressing public participation in the form of citizen
monitoring, e.g. Bromenshenk and Preston (1986), Wakeman and Derven (1987), Armitage
et al. (1989), and Libster (1991). Christman and-Frease (1993) show that when properly
trained, volunteer generated data can be an efficient and effective adjunct to governmental
monitoring programs. None of these papers addressed public opinion. No discussion was
found which directly addresses public perceptions vs professional perceptions.

Swaminathan, M.S. 1993. Building an integrated ecological and livelihood security system
for the coastal zone. pp. 23-34 in: Sustainable Management of Coastal Ecosystems.
(Swaminathan, M.S.; Ramesh, R. eds). M.S. Swaminathan Res. Found.

       ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic pressures on the coastal ecosystems are increasing.
       Hence, there is a need for strengthening efforts in promoting the livelihood security of
       coastal communities on ecologically sustainable lines. Coastal management and
       monitoring systems need to be designed in such a manner that the people of the area
       participate actively in protecting the coastal ecosystem. Harmony within human kind,
       political action, public awareness and professional sensitivity are also equally impor-
       tant factors in sustainable management of coastal ecosystems. [abstract only]

Bromenshenk, J.J.; Preston, E. M. 1986. Public participation in environmental monitoring:
A means of attaining network capability. Environ. Monit. Assess. 6(1): 35-47.

       ABSTRACT: In the Puget Sound region of the United States a task force of commu-
       nity volunteers using bees monitored environmental pollution. This paper discusses
       advantages and limitations of public involvement in the assessment of regional
       environmental problems, particularly with respect to biological monitoring. This
       approach not only yielded extensive information about pollution levels but also was
       very cost effective.


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Wakeman, Thomas H.; Derven, Daphne L. 1987. Successful merging of scientific research
and public participation. pp 394-398 in: Coastal Zone '87, Proceedings of the Fifth Sympo-
sium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: This paper describes the on-going programs at the US Army Corps of
       Engineers' San Francisco Bay-Delta Model and Visitor Center that aim to broaden the
       general public's understanding and appreciation of science and scientific research. The
       Visitor Center offers the public, and more specifically school children, the opportunity
       to expand their knowledge of scientific research by providing access and descriptions
       of science in-action at an operating hydraulics laboratory. Ideas such as the experimen-
       tal method, modeling and testing programs, are introduced in a simple and basic
       fashion to help provide familiarity with scientific vocabulary and methodologies.
       Furthermore the public is able to gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the
       geographical and hydraulic mechanisms affecting the region of San Francisco Bay
       including landforms, tidal influences and freshwater inflows into the estuary by
       viewing the Model.

Armitage, Thomas; Baptiste, Ellen; Ellet, Kathleen 1989. Citizen volunteer monitoring, a
tool for estuarine management. pp 887-898 in: Coastal Zone '89: Proceedings of the Sixth
Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New
York.

       ABSTRACT: The Environmental Protecticn Agency is exploring the uses of citizen
       volunteer monitoring to support its mission of protecting and improving water quality
       in the nation's estuaries. This paper describes how successful volunteer estuarine
       monitoring programs can be developed, implemented, and maintained. Volunteer
       monitoring data can be collected and used to meet a number of different estuarine
       management objectives. Enforcement and compliance monitoring programs require
       quality assured and quality controlled data. Citizen- monitoring can provide data to
       meet this objective, but it can also play a key role in building public support for
       action, and ultimately the political will to accomplish environmental goals. Citizen
       volunteer monitoring can augment monitoring programs already in existence at the
       federal, state, and local levels. Mobilizationi of citizen volunteers permits the collec-
       tion of data that would not be available through conventional methods. (Author
       abstract) 4 Refs.

Liebster, Jack. 1991. California's Adopt-A-Beach. More than just a cleanup. pp 1242-1251
in: Coastal Zone '91: Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium on Coastal and Ocean Manage-
ment. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

       ABSTRACT: California's Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup and Recycling Program is in its
       seventh year of dramatic growth. Beginning as an annual one-day cleanup, it has now
       expanded year 'round and emphasizes broader coastal awareness. The Adopt-A-Beach
       program is structured to provide easy, accessible opportunities for participation, then
       to build upon those to bring participants to greater levels of understanding and
       concern about the broad range of coastal issues. The paper discusses how the program

                                                                                         71








      has achieved its successful growth, and suggests opportunities for the future. (Author
      abstract) 5 Refs

Christman, Brian B.; Frease, Robert A. 1993. Assessing the quality of citizen volunteer
monitoring. pp 2772-2786 in: Coastal Zone '93. Proceedings of the eighth Symposium on
Coastal and Ocean Management. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

      ABSTRACT: Total-error profiles and quality control charts are presented as quanti-
      tative techniques to determine acceptability of methodology and analyses for volunteer
      water quality monitoring programs. These techniques were used by the Volunteer
       Citizens' Water Quality Monitoring Network for the Indian River Lagoon, an
       estuarine monitoring program on Florida's central east coast. Network methods of
       analysis for dissolved oxygen, salinity and pH were acceptable across ranges of 2.4 to
       11.3 mg/I, 4.0 to 35.7 gfkg and 7.2 to 8.4 pH units, respectively. The potential exists
       for an increase in the acceptable ranges. Twenty on-site assessments of volunteer
       analyses were subsequently conducted, and 95% of dissolved oxygen, 89% of salinity
       and 89% of pH results met quality control criteria. Unacceptable errors were resolved
       with retraining and supplemental instrumentation. The techniques can be tailored to
       individual program objectives and should prove useful in defining and assessing
       quality of volunteer generated data.




























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                       7. Summary and Conclusions


There is a large and diverse body of research dealing with environmental monitoring of
coastal zone features and resources. However, few of the papers directly address environ-
mental characterization, and even fewer do so in a way that conforms with our criteria for
"useful indicators," i.e., providing an indicator that is outcome oriented, inexpensive, and
easily understandable as an indicator of environmental quality. This chapter summarizes the
results of the literature review and offers recommendations.


7.1 Direct Measurements and Bioindicators

There are many traditional indicators in this category. The direct measurement model can
easily test for pH, dissolved oxygen levels, and concentration levels of a number of contami-
nants. However, routine or time series measurements can become costly. Moreover, the
public seldom understands the meaning of most water quality data.

Bioindicators are likely more useful for the public because water quality information is then
related to the health or fitness of a living organism. Bioindicators may also be less expensive
than frequent direct measurements, and are likely a better measure of sediment and water
quality in a dynamic environment. Quantitative measures exist or can easily be developed for
bioindicators.

The move toward community-based or diversity index-based bioindicator research is too new
to assess its value as an environmental quality indicator. Quantitative measures have not yet
been developed.


7.2 Bivalves

Because of the large body of research and the degree of public understandability, bivalves
would make a particularly good environmental indicator. Although they suffer from the same
limitations of other individual species bioindicators in that they are not necessarily able to
determine community level effects, they should nonetheless be one of the tools used to
evaluate coastal zone quality. Coastal zone managers interested in water quality should
consider using Mussel Watch information where appropriate, or if one is not near enough to
give credible monitoring data, to try to set up a similar program.


7.3 Benthos

Research in this area has similar strengths and weaknesses to bioindicators. Individual
bioindicators, e.g., tumors in flatfish or shellfish harvest closures tend to be readily under-
standable. However, there are few monitoring programs organized around these types of

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indicators. The National Status and Trends Benthic Surveillance Project has the advantage Of
its large scale and long term of existence. Similar to the Mussel Watch program, it is another
tool coastal zone mangers should consider in evaluating coastal zone quality.

Another attempt at improving this weakness focused on a number of community based
models that will give a more environmental quality measurement. The abundance/biomass
comparison and diversity indices could give a more useful measure of environmental quality,
but again, the cost may include the loss of public acceptance.


7.4 Coastal Zone Management

Most of the papers found in this phase of the literature review do not have the same degree
of quantifiable measurements found in the scientific literature.

Congress mentioned eight 'improvement objectives" in their 1990 reauthorization of the
CZMA. These objectives involved a (1) concern for wetlands, (2) coastal hazards, (3) public
assess, (4) marine debris, (5) cumulative and secondary impacts, (6) special area manage-
ment plans, (7) ocean resources, and (8) siting of energy and government facilities. Of these
eight objectives, only coastal hazards, public access, and marine debris were addressed in the
literature. Some articles on wetlands were discovered, but these mainly dealt with a desrip-
tion of restoration attempts or with arguments for wetland preservation.

7.4.1 Buffer Zones

Buffer zones might be one way to measure the effectiveness of programs designed to protect
and preserve wetlands and other sensitive arma. Buffer zones can serve to maintain water
quality, protect habitat values, and reduce erosion damage to structures. Still, this is an
indirect assessment of the potential for wetlands preservation or water quality protection.
Direct assessments would be more useful. Moreover, buffer zone widths recommended by
the scientific community are often equal to or in excess of the management zone authorized
under Washington's Shoreline Management Act. The SMA contemplates managing develop-
ment within that zone, not setting it aside as a buffer.

7.4.2 Public Access

Public access has the potential to be a useful coastal zone quality indicator. To achieve this,
public access inventory data should be developed and presented in a manner that includes a
'per capita' component. 'More public access' is a common concern, but how much is
enough? More importantly, to determine appropriate levels of public access, managers need
to know the patterns of use at existing sites at both the local and regional levels. In other
words, managers need to be able to compare supply with demand. Measurements of
individual site usage rates and the number of access sites per capita could allow this
comparison. However, a note of caution should given. Increasing public access can have



74







undesirable environmental effects on other coastal zone amenities. Managers should weigh
the two sides carefully.

7.4.3 Coastal Hazards

The literature on coastal hazards potentially relating to coastal quality indicators is scant.
Some problems were described, e.g., the amount of armoring along the coast, which do
suggest the potential for a measurable indicator, but more research needs to be done to
develop appropriate indicators that would be useful as evaluative and monitoring tools.

7.4.4 Marine Debris

Marine debris density would be a useful indicator. Unfortunately, it is rarely used. This
parameter highlights the difference between a more social goal like cleaning up a beach and
educating the public, and a more scientific goal which could result in a cleaner beach and an
educated public but which would also produce measurements that could be used to evaluate
how clean a beach is compared to another. This type of data would take little extra effort at
record keeping, but it would result in a much more useful measurement.

In the future, groups like the Center for Marine Conservation should request measurements
of effort as well as the amount and types of debris collected. Other variables that could affect
beach debris, such as a recent storm event or time between collections, also need to be
recorded and taken into account. Nationally, a consistent recording format is also important.

7.4.5 Public Participation

Public perception itself is not an environmental quality indicator. However, public perception
is an important part of determining the understandability of an indicator. Greater attention
should be paid to research on public perceptions of coastal zone values and coastal zone
quality.


7.5 Conclusions

One component frequently missing from the literature was a useful quantifiable measurement.
Part of the reason for this involves the different degrees of established writings and theory.
In general, the direct measurement and bioindicator models have been established much
longer than the coastal zone management field and was thus more likely to have evolved to
the point where they have developed and applied more quantifiable indicators.

The other factor responsible for this lack of quantification is the nature of the research. The
direct measurement and bioindicator fields tended to approach the problem from a natural
and physical science perspective. This approach is more conducive to quantifiable measure-
ments. The coastal zone management field, on the other hand, seemed to approach the
problem more from a land use perspective. This approach does not rely as heavily on








quantification or mathematical models. Therefore, there is not the tradition to describe results
in rigorous, quantitative ways.

The other component frequently missing from most of the research, even when the research
had a quantifiable measure, was utility, i.e., its value and usefulness to both coastal zone
managers and the public. This feature applied equally to research in both the direct measure-
ment and bioindicator fields and to the coastal zone management field. Simply put, scientific
research is aimed at answering scientific questions and communicating the results to one's
peers. Translation of scientific principals does not occur in the scientific literature. However,
when authors specifically tried to develop "useful" environmental indicators they were
generally successful

There are strong environmental indicators of water quality, which is an aspect of environ-
mental quality, but is not the whole story. While there are many potential and promising
indicators to help fill in what water quality cannot measure, they often lack in one or more of
the three key components determining an indicator's utility, i.e., measurability, cost
effectiveness, and a high degree of intuitiveness or understandability. Coastal managers need
to devote more thought to identifying and developing indicators of coastal zone quality which
capture the essence of the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Shoreline Management
Act.




























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